Because I Promised
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Defying Soutaichou's orders, Byakuya and Rikichi break into Las Noches to rescue Abarai Renji. Byakuya finds that the punishment he faces for his disobedience is far less painful than seeing what Renji has become...Warning, references to non-con sex
1. Hollow

**Because I Promised**

**By Spunky0ne**

**(Dedicated to notxtoshi, alabirdie, deadbyday, renjfantoo, walkure leuad and all of the other Renji lovers out there! A feast of Bya/Ren goodness. I swear...it's better than chocolate! Well, once they get started. I'm afraid they'll have to work for it, but they will be happy together. And now, I'll shut up and let you read!)**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**Hear these words. Let them bring you out of the darkness. No matter where you go, I will follow. No matter who stands between us, we will not be parted. Though you are lost, I will find you. I will never let you go.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_I know something has changed. For so long, I woke to icy coldness…cold so deep inside that I couldn't feel anything. Not that I'd want to now. Coldness…and darkness. They've been all there was of my so-called existence for days or weeks or maybe years. I lost track a long time ago. There used to a 'before' and I hoped for an 'after.' But that was when I first became Aizen Sousuke's prisoner. It was then that I learned the futility of before and the fact that I didn't want there to be an after. I wanted it to end. I wanted to die._

_But that bastard wouldn't let me…_

_He told them they couldn't kill me. I was relieved at first, thinking naively that it meant that I had a chance to escape. But although I tried, time and again, my feet never touched the sand outside the prisons. I never even came close. I never felt the nearness of freedom. My world was reduced to a small, square cell. My life was reduced to coldness, darkness and intermittent pain. _

_The hollows are skilled in handing out torment. Created by dark emotion, they know the darkest part of the soul and they feed on it. I had always managed to keep the darkness inside at bay. Many things had tried to wear me down over the years…the rundown streets of Inuzuri, poverty, the deaths of so many friends, lost lovers, missed opportunities…and worst…that beautiful white terror who haunted me from the moment I first saw him._

_Yes…Kuchiki Byakuya was the bane of my existence before. He had me out of bed and scrambling to get ready for work before the sun rose, racing to fetch his tea, filing hundreds of damned reports and apologizing because I can't write for shit. His softest words sounded like screams in my mind…and everything he said was laced with sarcasm. _

_Except for that once…_

_One time, that beautiful, angelic looking face softened for me. One time, he whispered and it actually sounded like a whisper. He was facing down an Espada…and a second attacker came out of nowhere…aiming for his unprotected back. It was my job to be there and I was. Zabimaru took the bastard down in an eyeblink, but not before he damn near cut me in half._

_My taichou watched with those wide gray eyes as blood exploded all around me. I didn't hear his flash step, but I felt his arms catch me as I fell. He eased me to the ground and called my name like a hundred times. His hands lit up with healing light and his eyes got desperate. And when my eyes closed and everything went dark, I heard him talking._

"_Abarai," he whispered, his breath touching my ear, "you cannot leave. I haven't had the chance to tell you…"_

_And just my luck, I faded out without fucking hearing the rest. I woke up in the fourth division and I could smell the scent of sakura…and I could feel his reiatsu everywhere. But he was gone when I woke enough that I could have talked to him. And even once I was released from the hospital, he never mentioned it again._

_I was too proud or maybe too damned scared to ask…_

_It bugs the hell out of me, thinking now that I'll never know. I'm too preoccupied most of the time…too busy shrinking back into the corner of this damned cell, curling up and looking half dead so the hollows will pass me over and choose some other poor soul to fuck…or torture…it's all the same. Day in, day out, it never changes. Not that day and night exist here. The cells are always dark and the hallways brightly lit. That way, it blinds us as they drag us from our cells. It shocks us for a moment…long enough for them to be assured of control. I used to strike out blindly, figuring that eventually I would hit one of them hard enough to get loose. I almost did once, but only got three steps before I was on the ground. No two ways about it…with my spirit energy sealed away, I've got nothing on these bony nightmares._

_I wonder why Aizen makes them keep us alive…why he doesn't come down here and show his ugly face, but sends these goons to beat us down…to rape us…to leave our minds as shattered as our bodies. The ones here were strong, but not taichous. They all had promise, but they also had rough edges. We're so worn down now that the edges have gone smooth. We hardly feel it anymore when they attack us._

_I used to get angry, and I was so used to feeling the red energy swell around me, to hearing Zabimaru rise up inside, taunting me into action…half the time before I should have moved. I used to hate Zabimaru. I guess because I pretty much hated myself. I was always tall and clumsy, my timing a bit off, my uniform a bit askew, something always lacking. Taichou never had to work a brain cell to figure out something to correct, because he had so many fucking inadequacies to choose from. I wondered so many times why he chose me. And now I'll fucking die without ever knowing._

_What does a guy born into the greatest of the noble families see in a fuck up like me? Why did his eye fall on my profile and what made him choose me as his fukutaichou? Back then, he was colder than Inuzuri in the dead of winter. He'd look at me and I'd shiver with dread. It's almost like something inside me knew he was going to kill me someday. But, like the rest of my instincts, that was a little off. Because even though we came to blows over Rukia, and even though he left only an inkling of life inside me, he left me with something…and I lived to suffer the aches and stings of recovery._

_He was different after that. Maybe it was that he was beaten bloody by Ichigo…or maybe it was when Gin's blade ripped through his heart and he heard me scream his name. I don't know if it was that or that once those big dark eyes opened, I couldn't leave his side. Whatever it was, he stopped looking like he was tolerating me. _

_Yeah, that's where it started…in his eyes. That's probably the only place he could really show what was going on inside his head. While he was lying in the healing center and I'd bring him tea or reports on the squad, he would steal glances at me…and it wasn't like when he'd meet my eyes and be in perfect control, it's like he'd let himself escape in those small spontaneous moments. I don't know about him, but I began to live for them._

_On the outside, things went on pretty damned normally. He still greeted me the same way every day. A meeting of eyes as the door opened. Not like he needed to look up. He always knew it was me. His reiatsu would touch me way before I reached the door. But he still looked up at me for just a second as I'd come in…then he'd say my name in greeting…just my name. It would spill out of his mouth in that deep, soft voice and it was like his hand had wrapped around my beating heart for a moment and squeezed. Everything stopped for just a moment…then he'd break eye contact and go back to his work. And as I'd move forward and take my place across from him, a swirl of sakura would brush against me…and I'd feel his reiatsu settle comfortably._

_Damn…_

_I wonder if he misses that as much as I do…_

_I wonder who he chose this time…_

_And if he's sorry I'm not there…_

_Or if he thinks I got what I deserved, being so clumsy and getting captured…_

_I wonder if he's ever wished I would come back…_

_Or if he sits there quietly at that desk, across from his new fukutaichou and has forgotten all about me. Except maybe that Rukia still cries when she thinks about me. Maybe he hates me for getting myself into this and making her cry._

_Still…given the choice I made that day…I made the right decision. As bad as things are, better me than him. Better a fuck up than a taichou. The Gotei 13 couldn't bear to lose him. They would rather throw away a thousand like me. And I would rather sit in this cell for the rest of my life…and barely survive on the scraps they give us…and have my body violated and beaten until I can't feel anything anymore…than to even have it cross my mind what they would have done to him if they'd gotten their hands on him. Aizen would have wanted Byakuya all to himself…would have locked him away somewhere where Gin and Tousen and all of the hollows wouldn't have been able to find him. And he would have been the one to meet those dark eyes every day. Yeah, he would have looked into those pretty eyes and done everything this side of hell to make him look afraid…to make that sweet mouth open into screams…to make him cry, plead, moan and wish for death. I couldn't let that happen to him…so I got between them._

_It gave Taichou time to tear himself free and save the tattered remains of our group. I saw them going back through the senkaimon. I saw him turn back and look at me as I was falling._

_He looked like I'd torn the heart out of him._

_Then the hands of the other squad members took him and forced him through the senkaimon. I felt the last swell of his reiatsu and smelled sakura for the last time. Now every day…every night…with every damned breath, I thank kami I'm here…and not back there living without him. I can deal with the pain they hand out. I was raised in full knowledge that life isn't fair…and that things get fucked up and you sometimes can't do anything to fix it. Byakuya wasn't raised like that. Still, he has a sense of the way things are. That's why he'll let me go. That's why he'll make himself forget me…_

_I want him to…_

XXXXXXXXXX

Rikichi watched his taichou closely. Kuchiki taichou scared him nearly out of his mind, but he knew that even though Abarai Renji was gone, he would have wanted someone to watch over their taichou the way he had. And so, for three long years, he had dedicated himself to the task, training harder than he had in his entire life and pushing his way forward until he was made third seat.

There was no fukutaichou of the sixth division…hadn't been since Abarai Renji.

So Rikichi sat at Renji's desk, looking at all of the things he'd left behind that day…the things that he hadn't dared to move and Kuchiki taichou had never asked him to. He dusted around them, so that it looked the same as it had the last time Renji had been there. It almost seemed as though he would come through the door any minute. Rikichi didn't know how many times he had closed his eyes and wished for it.

"Rikichi," Byakuya's deep, tranquil voice said, startling him out of his reverie, "Work hours have been over for some time. You may go."

"Hai, Kuchiki taichou," the youth said quietly, "Would you like me to make you some tea before I go?"

"No, Rikichi, you are dismissed."

He didn't look up from his work. Rikichi stood and gathered his things, then made his way down the hallway and into his quarters. He sat down on the edge of his bed, looking out the window and waiting, his hand on his zanpakutou. He waited silently, carefully masking his reiatsu as he had learned to from a friend in the second division. Part of taking care of Kuchiki taichou was staying with him, something Rikichi could only do if he could hide himself from the sixth division taichou.

He saw Byakuya step out into the darkness and look around for a moment. Rikichi waited breathlessly as the dark haired taichou cast his reiatsu around, searching for a moment. Then, convinced he was alone and unseen, he brought his reiatsu in close again and masked it. He took a last look around, then disappeared in a flash step.

Now Rikichi moved…

It had taken him months to figure out where his taichou went at night. He had had to try many times before learning to follow without being detected. Byakuya never scolded him when he caught Rikichi following. He just disappeared…and Rikichi practiced harder, promising himself he would master the skill perfectly. And tonight, it seemed, he had. He arrived where he knew Byakuya had gone and slipped into the senkaimon behind him. He followed the twists and turns, carefully keeping Byakuya in his sights. In the time he had been following the noble, he had improved in every aspect of stealth. He learned to walk on silent feet, to mask his reiatsu and blend into his surroundings, to follow unnoticed and to leave no sign of his passing. It was, he thought, much like making oneself a ghost.

Now he used those skills to follow Byakuya through the senkaimon, along the circuitous route he maintained, into the living world and down the twisting streets to Urahara Kisuke's shop. He waited as Byakuya disappeared inside, then a bit longer…then he approached the shop, himself and slipped inside. Kisuke was nowhere to be found, but Rikichi knew the way to the secret training grounds. It was there that the shopkeeper and the substitute shinigami had helped him to become stronger. They knew how much it meant to him. So when he appeared at the shop, Kisuke agreed immediately to help him. And he had been helping Rikichi ever since.

The youth paused by the entrance to the training grounds. He thought he might hear voices, so he waited until all was quiet. Then he carefully opened the door and dropped down into the training room. It was dark and quiet inside, but Rikichi knew his way to the garganta. And he knew that Byakuya passed through it each night…and that he spent his nights standing on top of a lonely sand dune, staring at the distant base. Kuchiki taichou, he thought, had never given up. He went back there each night because he refused to believe that Abarai Renji was dead. He was going to do something. Rikichi felt it keenly. So he trained like the devil to make sure he didn't go alone.

He stepped forward, picking his way through the darkness until he felt the presence of the garganta. Something felt different this time. Something was off. Rikichi paused. At that moment, the lights flashed on and he felt the heavy rush of three incoming zanpakutous. Instantly, his weapon was out and sweeping around him as his slim form leapt into the air.

"Hado #33, soukatsui!" he cried, sending a kido blast down at his attackers.

Blue light exploded downward, driving the three swordsmen back, their shielding rising quickly in response. The blue light of his attack lit their faces and Rikichi gave a gasp of dismay. He let himself drop back down into the center of the circle they had made around him. He looked warily into his taichou's eyes and saw, not anger, but approval. Kisuke nodded briefly and Ichigo's face erupted into a smile.

"Wh-what is happening?" the youth asked, staring, "Why did you…?"

Byakuya's eyes met his with uncharacteristic warmth.

"Put your weapon away, Rikichi," Byakuya said softly, "We will not attack you again. What we did before was a test…and you have passed. You are finally ready. _We_ are finally ready."

The noble looked back at Kisuke.

"For three years, we have wondered about the fate of Abarai Renji. Recently, our spies discovered that he was being held within the fortress…in the prison level. You know that Soutaichou had Renji declared dead and would not allow us to go and search for him. When confronted with proof that Renji was alive, he refused to risk personnel for so difficult a rescue. It was as logic dictated, but I could not accept his order. Instead, I turned to Urahara Kisuke. He promised to assist me in Renji's rescue, but there was much we had to do to prepare.

We had to make our plans, and to make ourselves strong and skilled enough to see to his rescue. As you were so adamant about following me, I thought you might be part of this as well. Rikichi, we have Ichigo and Urahara to hold the garganta open and to protect our path back, but I need someone who can slip inside the fortress with me…who can be a second set of eyes and can assist me in removing Renji from the prison. If you do this, you will face punishment, as I will, upon our return to the Seireitei. You must consider whether this is acceptable to you. Rikichi…will you help us?"

The youth stared.

"M-me sir?" he stammered, "but Ichigo is way stronger!"

"Ichigo has power," admitted the noble, "but what we need is stealth."

"What about Yoruichi-san? She…"

"Her reiatsu is too well known to Aizen, because of Kisuke's and her involvement with him before. He was never very close to me…before the betrayal. I can hide my reiatsu and now you can also. We can move silently and your flash step is fast enough for an escape. And you are near reaching manifestation. You have grown very strong. And your use of kido is admirable. I must ask you again…will you assist us in rescuing Abarai Renji?"

Rikichi stared breathlessly into the eyes of his taichou, stunned by the emotion he saw there. He felt frozen where he stood…shaken to the core.

"Hai, Kuchiki taichou," he heard himself say.

He managed to keep his legs from shaking beneath it as he said the words, but he shook inside, thinking of what would happen if they failed…or even if they succeeded. Still, this was Renji. And for Renji, Rikichi was willing to do anything.

And judging by all he had done to prepare for the rescue, Kuchiki taichou was too. The straight-laced noble had never been one to ignore orders. Not direct ones, anyway.

_It must be true then…_

_He must be in love with Renji…_


	2. Imprisoned

**Chapter 2: Imprisoned**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**Why do you come to me now? You know why I left you…the reasons I took those steps that led me away. It was the right thing to do, even though you fought it. Why are you still fighting? Why do you look at me that way? Why do you look at me, when I can't look back? My leaving was a gift…because I wanted to spare you. I accepted my fate…torment, bonds and death. It was the price I paid to save you. Why can you not accept that? Why?**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya stood on a large, dark sand dune, shadows obscuring his cloaked form as he stared quietly across the sand to the traitor's fortress. His wide, gray eyes were calm and focused, his mind perfectly centered. He knew well what he and the others were getting themselves into…the price they would pay, whether or not they accomplished their mission.

He glanced down at his strong, unspoiled body, well aware of how Aizen Sousuke would torment and stain it, should he and Rikichi be captured. And although it was the very fate that Renji had sought to spare him by placing himself in Aizen's path, he could no longer bear the weight of Abarai Renji's sacrifice. In truth, it had moved beyond intolerable long before. But not knowing for certain if Renji survived and trying to navigate the proper channels to secure permission for his endeavor had been a useless waste of time. Not that Soutaichou's refusal and order for Byakuya to abandon Renji to his fate made any sort of difference anyway. But it would have been a comfort to have the support of the military he and Renji had long served together.

It chilled him how quickly the military had chosen to abandon one of its own…

He couldn't argue with the logic of the decision. Renji was an officer with great promise, but not yet a taichou. He had obviously valued his taichou's life above his own or he would not have sacrificed himself. And even if he survived, rescue would require risking others…and risking Byakuya could undo everything that Renji had sacrificed himself to protect. Yes, he understood the logic…and the order.

But he could not obey it…

So he stood on the sand dune, taking slow breaths and gathering himself. If he did not succeed in saving Renji, he faced torment and eventual death…along with failure to bring about his fukutaichou's release. And if he succeeded, he faced court-martial and perhaps imprisonment…although the clan was likely to insist on being given rights to decide his culpability and punishment…so instead of being locked up in the Repentance Center, he would probably be sentenced to some amount of time under house arrest and a note in his record (something the military retained the right to control). He could use his influence to clear Rikichi of any responsibility, so the third seat had little more at risk than his life on the one hand…but would only gain from Renji's rescue, if they were successful. Yes, there might be logic in the forces that sought to impede them, but there was logic in their choices too. Both sides made some kind of sense…and that left room for interpretation.

There was no room for interpretation in what he felt inside…

He had been able to hide from the emotion for years. He called it by other, more innocuous names. If Renji entered the division office, his way of greeting his fukutaichou fell under the heading of 'politeness.' When Renji was injured on his behalf once before, visiting him in the infirmary was only showing 'decency' for someone who had acted to protect him. The dreams he had at night, where Renji would appear behind him…touch his shoulder and impart a gentle kiss on his lips were just 'fancy.' And the way his breath seemed to catch when Renji touched him was merely 'surprise.' He had other ways of explaining everything away. But this burning inside, this unbroken desire to tear free of the Gotei 13, to run heedlessly across the sand dunes and shatter the walls, to break the bonds that imprisoned Renji couldn't be explained away so easily. He had tried to label it 'guilt' or 'affection,' but he knew too well that it went beyond that. He had felt love once before…and promised himself that he would never set himself up like that again…and with Renji imprisoned and likely severely injured and traumatized, love wasn't something that even fell into the realm of possible…not until Renji was safe and healed. And even then…after what Renji had suffered on his behalf, he wondered if he could allow himself to approach Renji with his heart exposed…because he didn't feel as though he deserved Renji's love. And Renji's heart might be too battered because of him. Maybe Renji would hate him for being the reason he was hurt so badly. He probably deserved it. No…love had no place in their association…not now and maybe not ever. Still maybe…maybe if he gave enough in the way of pain…maybe he could earn the right.

Maybe…

"Byakuya-san," Urahara's voice said quietly, "It is time."

XXXXXXXXXX

_The cell door rattles, but my heart doesn't even sink anymore. The door creaks open and someone steps inside. I don't know, or really give a rat's ass who it is. The step is light and doesn't have the dragging sound that most of the hollows have when they walk. So…it's him…Aizen. Why the hell he wants to see me now, I have no idea. That he even would recognize me at this point is a fucking miracle._

_My skin is so black with dirt and ash, blood and semen that I can't see the tattoos anymore. I have to stink, but I've lost my sense of smell. My shihakushou is in tatters and my body has wasted away to nearly skin and bones. My hair is still long and vaguely red, but it hangs in tattered mats. I could almost pass for a hollow…almost._

_He crosses the floor and looks down at me through narrowed eyes, sizing me up. He wants something…something he thinks I will give him. But there is no way. There is no fucking way!_

"_Abarai Renji," the soft voice says, "You have been here for three long years. No one in these other cells has been with us longer than you have. The others captured with you have all died now…and you are the only one left. I admire the strength inside you. I want to make use of it. So I offer you this…come over to my side. Support me…follow me. We will overthrow the spirit king and you will never know such suffering again."_

_He touches my dry, cracked lips before I can answer._

"_Wait," he says, his face frighteningly close to mine, "before you answer, hear this. When you arrived here, you were set on the path…to becoming a powerful hollow. Every day, as you suffered, your fear, pain, anger and sorrow swelled around you. Slowly, it worked to overcome you. With the others, the process moved more quickly, but for some reason, you were more resistant. You have not progressed much at all in your transition. But even so, eventually, it will happen. I have loosed the monster inside of you, because I need to use it. Only say the word and you will be completed. I will force the transition to complete itself and return your blade to you for you to wield on my behalf."_

_I want to tell him to go screw himself, but I haven't been able to speak for some time. I don't remember when, exactly, my voice disappeared._

"_He doesn't speak, sir," says a hollow that stands in the doorway behind him, "That one has gone mad. You can see there's no sign of life in his eyes."_

_I have to wonder who is right. Is it as the guard says and I have lost my mind? Or is it as Aizen says and my inner monster has been set loose and is slowly turning me into one of them? Damn! I didn't realize before, but maybe I should have. It has been like there was someone else inside my body for some time._

_I wonder how in the hell he did it. And when?_

I don't even question 'if,' because now that he said it, I feel it inside me.

"Mad?" queries Aizen, slipping a hand beneath my chin and gazing into my eyes, "I see. Perhaps you are right. But then again, maybe it is just the process as he is made over into a hollow. Perhaps he is farther along than we thought. So then…if he cannot respond, we need merely wait. It will happen on its own. Then, when he has transitioned, I will use him."

_He stokes my cheek for a moment._

"_Clean him up. Make him comfortable. I will be back."_

_After he leaves, the guard drags me to my feet. I start to let myself be dragged along, but something rises up inside me. A guttural snarl sounds in my throat and my body comes to life, leaving my control. It's like watching a movie as I wrap the chains I'm bound with around his throat and choke the life out of him. He doesn't even have time to scream. I feel a horrid coldness inside as I watch his lifeless body slump to the floor and then take the keys from him. The chains fall away and I pick up his sword, then walk to the door and wait, letting my eyes adjust._

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya led Rikichi through the dark, desert sand. He moved at just under flash step speed…fast, but not wanting to alert the hollows to their presence. They used rocky clusters as cover as they closed in on the prisons. They reached the end of the darkness and prepared to move into the area Aizen had lit with his falsified sunshine. Byakuya was highly aware that everything the light touched was subject to observation, and he kept the two of them within the shadows. They slowed and moved forward more cautiously.

The prisons lay on the outer edge of the fortress, and were protected by Aizen's surveillance and Arrancar guards. They managed to avoid letting the light touch them, but were quickly approaching the point where they would have to begin quietly dispatching the guards. He kept Rikichi at his back and moved forward on silent, wary feet. They drew the cloaks around their faces and turned into the hallway where the main prison guard post waited. The guards gave them only bored stares as they approached, likely being used to visits from cloaked superiors. But as they reached the guard post, a guard stepped forward and blocked their path.

"Name and rank," he said tersely.

"Of course," said Byakuya, moving in close.

His sudden shock of kido made the guard fall. Byakuya stepped back as the guard fell and his partner stepped forward, raising his weapon. The next shock of kido was delivered on the heels of the first, and the second guard fell. Rikichi helped him hide the two unconscious bodies, then took over the station himself as the noble slipped into the cellblock. He was surprised to find the next guard post empty and even more surprised at finding Zabimaru set in a stand near several other, apparently confiscated zanpakutous. He slipped the weapon into the belt at his waist, then turned toward the hallway that held the cell where Renji was reported to be. Almost immediately, he sensed Renji's oddly weak reiatsu. He sensed something was wrong, but couldn't afford to become distracted. Whatever was wrong could wait until he found Renji…until they were safely beyond the reach of Aizen and his hollows.

He took a shallow breath and stepped forward into the hallway.

XXXXXXXXXX

_When I can see well enough, I wait until the next guard passes by and move in behind him, cutting his throat before he can react. His blood rains onto my body and I feel an odd dizziness pass over me. I start to feel control returning. My heart slows and the beast inside settles. I am left standing in the corridor with a sword in my hand and a dead guard at my feet. I shake my head to clear it and realize what I've just done. There are more guards somewhere in the maze of hallways, but for the moment, they don't know what has happened. I take the keys and unlock the other cells, watching as the others slip out into the corridor and locate whatever things they might use as weapons. We move quietly towards the end of the hallway, with me leading. I am nearly to the guard post, when a dark cloaked figure enters the hallway. I move to attack, raising my sword and starting to bring it down onto his hooded head. My hands freeze over him as he raises a familiar sword to stop mine and as the hood that obscures his face is hurriedly thrown back._

_I know those eyes, that face, those slender, pale hands! I stand frozen and staring as he meets my eyes and his go wide._

"_Renji…"_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Renji…" Byakuya gasped, stopping his blade and locking it tightly against the redhead's.

A chill went through him as crazed brown eyes met his, looking blank for a long moment, then sparking with recognition. Tears rose in his eyes at the horrid state that Renji was in, but Byakuya forced down his reaction and noticed, suddenly, the group of escaped prisoners behind the redhead. He motioned the group into the empty guard post and silently pointed to the racks of weapons that lay nearby. He turned to Renji and watched the intense reaction as he set the redhead's weapon in his hands. The redhead slipped the sealed katana into his belt, but continued to wield the dead guard's sword. Byakuya touched his fukutaichou's wrists, releasing the seal on his spirit energy. The redhead's eyes misted over for a moment and he blinked several times before turning to follow Byakuya.

The prisoners gathered weapons and Byakuya released the seals holding back their power. They followed Byakuya to the outer checkpoint, where Rikichi waited. The noble felt a shock of panic as he spotted Aizen Sousuke approaching the checkpoint from the other side. A sharp hiss sent the group into the shadows. Byakuya waited until Aizen was nearly at the guard post, then drew his sword.

"Ban kai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

Aizen's eyes widened in surprise and his hand moved to his weapon, but the sakura blades obscured the entire area as Byakuya turned the group off to the side, pulling Renji along and calling out to Rikichi. The group split and burst into the desert, breaking off in different directions to confuse the troops being rousted by the now-shrieking alarms. They moved out into the open desert and rejoined the noble in a mad dash for the garganta. Their flash steps were slower, because of their imprisonment, but they managed to stay ahead of the incoming hollows and reached the garganta just ahead of their pursuers. Byakuya turned as the others went through and joined Urahara, Ichigo and Rikichi in providing cover for the fleeing prisoners.

Renji dropped onto his knees near Byakuya, exhausted from the use of his flash step and from the effects of his long imprisonment. As the hollows advanced, the noble and the others were forced back and finally fled through the garganta. Byakuya looped an arm around the redhead's waist and dragged him along. They passed back through the garganta and closed it behind them.

Back behind the hollows, Aizen Sousuke watched Byakuya capture Renji around the waist and guide him into the garganta. As the redhead disappeared alongside his taichou, the traitor's lips curled into a sly smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

_I feel Byakuya's arm close around my body and his voice sounds in my ear._

"_Come, Renji, it is time to go home."_

_I think of how many days and nights I lay in my cell, bleeding and hurting, thinking about that deep, smooth voice. The sound of it…the fact that this time it's real cracks across my mind and a silent sob escapes before I can stop it. He doesn't see, because he's too busy pulling me out of Las Noches, dragging me through to the other side, dropping down with me into the training ground at Urahara's shop. It isn't until we touch down and the others start to give shouts of relief that he realizes I am crying. He's quick to move close…to turn me away from the others. He says something to Urahara and the next thing I know, I'm in a quiet room and he's standing in front of me, holding me by the shoulders._

"_Are you injured, Renji?" he asks, but I am crying too hard to answer._

_He gets a worried look in his eyes as it registers that my cries are silent._

"_Can you hear me, Renji?"_

_I nod, but can't stop the tears pouring down my face. He wasn't supposed to see me like this. He was supposed to remember me the way I was. I wasn't supposed to live. And now, not only has he seen the wreck I am…that monster is still inside somewhere. Even though I'm in control for now, it could take over again. He doesn't know. Byakuya doesn't know and I can't tell him. I can't do anything but cry._

_He stands in front of me for a moment, looking into my barely recognizable face, then he calmly takes me by the hand and leads me into the bathroom. He undresses me, then himself and puts me under the hot water of the shower. The dirt, ash, blood and semen that painted my body before, run down in long black streams as water and the soap he rubs onto my body wash it all away. He keeps me there for what seems like a fucking eternity and it feels so unbelievingly good that I manage a low groan and lean heavily against him. He doesn't say a thing, but washes through the deep layers of filth, slowly revealing the brown skin and black tattoos I feel like I haven't seen in ages. He washes my hair about twenty times before it loosens in his fingers and starts to feel normal again. I am nearly asleep on my feet, and he's done cleaning everything away, but he holds me against him, letting the water flow down our bare bodies. He still doesn't speak, but his hands tremble as they hold me._

_Finally, the water cools and he climbs out. He dries off and wraps a clean yukata around himself, then dries me off and wraps another around me. He guides me to a soft, comfortable bed, then leaves for a moment. When he returns, Orihime is with him. Her golden power forms all around me and I feel myself drifting off. The last thing that registers are the dark, beautiful gray eyes that I thought I would never see again._

_Byakuya is scared…_

_And he should be…_


	3. Loss of Control

**Chapter 3: Loss of Control**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**I was used to the darkness and to the sting of pain, but you pulled me back into the light. A shock to the senses…and the sight of my face in a mirror…was enough to tell me that you should have left me to my fate.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_I realized too late what was happening as Orihime healed my broken body. It makes sense now to me, though I don't know if or when they'll ever figure it out. They are three parts to a sentient soul…body, mind and heart. There are only two to a hollow. A hollow has no heart. And that's what I'm slowly losing. It isn't something Orihime can heal. I don't know if anyone can heal it._

_Oh kami, even though I feel strength in my body again, and even though my mind is here, what has happened over the past three years is that my heart has been slowly dying inside me. There's still something left of it. If there wasn't, I would have died and become a hollow already. But without enough strength in my heart, I can't make my body obey me. It wouldn't hurt so much if my mind wasn't so clear, but my mind is still crystal clear. Damned cruel fate, if you ask me. I know what's happening. I can feel my heart dying, but the beast made from my inner agony has control of my body. That's why I can't tell him. The monster knows that he would have to kill me._

_But it also knows something else. The monster knows that Byakuya is our only protection. It is remaining close to him, because it needs the protection until it overcomes me and has full control. But that doesn't mean he's safe. That thing is unpredictable and eventually, it will be strong enough that it doesn't need him anymore…and when it is…it is going to kill him._

_I feel it waking. It realizes that the room is dark and doesn't know where we are. My mind is clear, but the beast is confused. It wakes in that confusion and reaches for the only source of safety it knows._

_Byakuya…you have to get away from us, before it's too late!_

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya woke to the sound of low, guttural sobs. He knew the sound was coming from Renji, but he had never heard the man make such noises. He rolled to his feet, aching from having fallen asleep on the floor near Renji's bed, and moved to the redhead's side, using a kido spell to raise a soft blue light. Renji's teary eyes were immediately drawn to it. They stared at it fixedly as the noble dried away his tears and yielded him a look of sympathy.

"I didn't leave you. I was right here. I'll leave the light on for you."

He started to pull away, but Renji's hand wrapped tightly around his wrist. Byakuya stared down at the hand that held his wrist almost painfully, then back to the hazed, unsettled brown eyes. The hand pulled on his. Byakuya's eyes closed.

"Is that what you need, then?" he asked very softly, "Do you need me to lie next to you?"

He remained frozen for a moment longer, then slipped into the bed next to the redhead. He blinked in surprise as the warm body of his fukutaichou wrapped around his like a vise and rested his face against the noble's. Byakuya shivered softly, feeling an odd sense that Renji was not himself…but somewhere beneath the confused surface, he sensed the person he knew. And so sensing, he relaxed, even though the embrace was a bit too snug. It felt good to be held, even a little too tightly. He turned his head slightly and felt the redhead's breath touch his cheek.

"Renji," he said softly, "when morning comes, we have to go back. We have to go back to the Seireitei. We may be separated then…for a while. I disobeyed orders in coming to free you and they may decide to take me in for questioning and trial. My clan will work to free me to return to you as quickly as possible, but you may be without me for a while. If you are, I want you to remember this…I promise you that I will come back to you. I didn't leave you in Las Noches and I won't leave you now. I give you my word. And you know I am a man of my word."

He wasn't sure if he was understood, but there was nothing more he could do, so he rested his face against Renji's and drifted off in his arms, leaving the soft blue light burning so that the room would not be left in darkness again.

XXXXXXXXXX

_The beast doesn't understand Byakuya's words, but I do. And I can see what's going to happen before it does. It won't understand what is happening…and it could become violent. I see it, but I can't avoid it. I keep trying though. I might be able to gain some kind of control if the thing fell asleep, but it seems afraid that the light will go out, and in any case, just seems to want to look at Byakuya's face as he sleeps._

_I've seen Byakuya asleep a million times, but I've never touched him like this while he was sleeping. There is a level of trust you have to have to sleep in a person's arms…and he seems to have reached that point. I wonder when it happened. I love how it feels, but I'm scared for him. The beast looks at him more and more hungrily as the time passes. I want to scream at him and tell him to wake up and get away, but I am stuck inside…and I can't make a sound. I wonder if he can hear my heart scream. I want badly to warn him, but can only observe as the beast touches his face, then reaches to untie his yukata._

_His eyes go wide and black with surprise as he wakes to find my hands pushing the clothing out of the way and trapping him beneath me. The beast touches his skin and is aroused by the softness. This creature was born of my pain and all it knows is that touches hurt…except the touches that come from this man. It wants to touch him back, but doesn't have a clue about the difference between gentle and painful, between lovemaking and rape._

_Byakuya is in trouble…and I can't do a damned thing to help him…_

_He flinches as my hands begin to explore his body, as I shift suddenly and trap him beneath me._

"_Renji," he says quietly, "stop."_

_The beast looks at him…and I can see that Byakuya knows that what's happening isn't something I would ever do…without permission, anyway. Okay…honestly? I thought about it…about touching him like that. But something about the threat of being sliced to ribbons again by Senbonzakura always stopped me. The beast either doesn't know or doesn't care. It fastens my mouth on Byakuya's to shut him up and continues to touch him…only now the touches are rougher, less controlled._

_Byakuya is worried he might hurt me if he fights back, so he hesitates…and that gives the beast a moment of advantage. He may be pretty stupid, but he knows not to miss the opportunity. He forces Byakuya's thighs apart and pushes down in between them. I hear the awful hiss of Byakuya's breath, but he doesn't cry out…and he doesn't inflict any pain. He resists as well as he can without hurting me. And the beast finds his entrance and prepares to take him._

_All of a sudden, I feel a moment of control. I don't know what gave control back to me, but I drag my body off of his and fall onto the floor, groaning. He gets up and drops down next to me, but I can see that his legs are shaking and his hands tremble as he ties his yukata back in place. He doesn't say anything right away, but helps me back into bed. He sits beside me for a moment, looking down and trying to read if I'm really there at all._

"_Sleep, Renji," he says quietly, "I will be right here."_

_He sits down next to the bed and his reiatsu calms. He watches as I start to drift off. I can only let myself fall asleep, because I know what just happened made him wary of me. He won't fall asleep in my arms again._

_That's a huge relief…_

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya sighed softly in relief as Renji's body relaxed in sleep. He knew better than to fall asleep again and needed the time anyway to figure out what to do. Renji was obviously not in control. He had regained it in time to stop himself from completing the sexual assault…but there was no guarantee that he would be able to overcome those urges in the future. That made him dangerous. And Byakuya had to wonder just how dangerous his fukutaichou was.

He believed in his heart that Renji was still himself inside. The fact that he had stopped himself from taking the noble, coupled with the fact that Renji had retained the presence of mind to free the other prisoners meant that there was still something left of the man he remembered. But what he didn't know was how to help Renji to regain full control. He wondered if Urahara might know. Curious, he set a protective field around Renji to keep him asleep and to allow no others access to him, then he slipped out of the room and moved quietly to where the shopkeeper stood sentry. Kisuke didn't seem surprised at all to see him and nodded in greeting.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, "Renji having problems?"

Byakuya nodded.

"He is afraid of the dark. He can't stand me leaving his side…and Urahara-san, I don't feel that he is in control. I need you to do something for me. I need you to tell me why there seems to be such confusion in his eyes, and such unevenness in his behavior. He seems to have some control, but mostly not. I need to get him under control before we go back. You understand why, ne?"

Kisuke nodded.

"They'll lock him up…or worse. Okay, I'll examine him."

They walked back to the room together. As they reached it, they heard low growls and snarls…and the sounds of a body throwing itself against something. Loosing a gasp of dismay, Byakuya opened the door and flash stepped to where Renji was throwing himself against the kido barrier, groaning in pain at the impact, then reeling for a moment and throwing himself against it again. The brown eyes were wide and desperate and he was sweating heavily and nearly foaming at the mouth.

"Byakuya, don't!" Kisuke shouted as the noble dropped the barrier.

Renji charged at them, slamming into Byakuya and throwing him back against the wall. The large hands wrapped around his throat and began to squeeze. The noble's hands came up and wrapped around Renji's as he struggled for breath. Renji's hands tightened and Byakuya felt the room darken. His body weakened and his eyes locked pleadingly on the Renji's. The brown eyes glared into his as he began to lose consciousness. He felt Renji's hand twitch and the eyes started to clear. But before Renji could fully return, Kisuke's kido spell struck him and he slumped to the floor, taking Byakuya to the ground with him.

Byakuya tore the redhead's hand away from his throat and sat near him, gasping for breath. Kisuke dragged Renji away and put him back in the bed, taking a moment to deepen his sleep. He turned back to Byakuya with a pained expression on his face.

"Byakuya-san, you know what just happened. You can't let them see Renji like this."

Byakuya said nothing, but nodded and moved closer, sitting down in a chair and watching as Kisuke leaned over the redhead and carefully examined him. He sent reiatsu pulsing into Renji's body and read the echoes that reflected off of Renji's inner spirit. His eyes darkened and he let his face rest in his hand for a moment.

"Damn…" he swore softly, "Byakuya…you really can't let them see him."

"Why?" asked the noble, standing and moving closer, "Kisuke, what's happening? Why is he like this?"

The shopkeeper's lips tightened.

"It's something Aizen has been testing. There have been a few others who he did this to…and do you know what was done when they were found?"

Byakuya shook his head.

"The Gotei 13 ordered them killed."

"What?" Byakuya gasped, his eyes wide.

"What's happening is that while Renji was there…being raped and tortured, Aizen found a way to capture the essence of that suffering…and harnessing the power of that emotion…he was able to send the emotional reiatsu cluster back inside him. It radiated inside, gathering more power each time Renji was hurt. Finally…his heart began to die inside him."

"His heart is…dying?" Byakuya repeated softly.

"It's his new way of corrupting pure souls, Byakuya-san. The vizards were created using a different process. He must not have been happy with how it worked. He has been working on this process for several years now…and several like Renji have turned up. Although, I have to say, the others hadn't a shred of themselves left and were killed when they attacked."

"Can you stop it?"

Kisuke but his lip gently.

"Maybe," he said, looking down at Renji, "but we have to keep him contained…and we have to keep him away from the Gotei 13."

"But Urahara-san, if it is as you say, and the Gotei 13 knew, then why did they not tell the taichous?"

Kisuke shook his head.

"Only the secret mobile corps was told…and they are the ones that carry out the executions…quietly, because Soutaichou knows that if it got around that they were killing our own people like this…"

Byakuya nodded.

"I understand."

Kisuke gazed at the noble for a moment.

"Do you really, Byakuya?" he asked, "Because I don't know that you do. This is a scary technique. I don't know that Renji can be saved…and you know that if you step much farther over that line, even your royal privilege won't protect you. If Renji is considered an enemy because he has been corrupted and you withhold him from the secret mobile corps…that's high treason…and you will be executed along with him."

He paused, meeting the noble's eyes meaningfully.

"You might want to keep that in mind, Byakuya-san."

He turned back to Renji.

"Go into the next room and get some sleep," Kisuke said calmly, "I'll keep him under so you can regain your full strength…and then…I'm going to have to make the two of you disappear."

Byakuya met his eyes silently and nodded, then turned and left the room. He walked to the next bedroom and slipped inside, then laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. He knew he had to sleep, but was overwhelmed by the memory of Renji, holding him down and nearly assaulting him sexually…and of the familiar, warm hands wrapping around his throat and beginning to squeeze. But Renji was still there, he reminded himself. He had stopped both times.

He had to believe that Renji could still be saved. He felt keenly the presence of his fukutaichou's soul inside his body. There had to be a way to save him. There simply had to be…

Kisuke would find it…

As much as the shopkeeper annoyed and sometimes enjoyed tormenting Byakuya, he cared deeply about what happened to both Renji and him. Byakuya knew that. He would do everything within his power to save the redhead.

But would it be enough…

He fell into a troubled sleep, still worrying over it.

He was awakened just before dawn by the arrival of the secret mobile corps…


	4. Cornered

**Chapter 4: Cornered**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**_Step closer, but approach me with care. I am hidden deep within, but the way to my heart is dangerous and I do not wish to see you torn. The touch of your hands and the sound of your voice brings me comfort. I long for the day I can offer you more than pain._**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya came awake with a start as Yoruichi entered his room and gently shook him.

"Byakuya…there's trouble," she said softly, "Come with me."

He followed her into the next room where Kisuke was waking Renji from the induced sleep. The shopkeeper looked up at him with a troubled expression.

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

"The secret mobile corps. Tessai has them at the door, but you need to make a decision. You know what's at stake here, Byakuya-san. They don't know about Renji's condition. You could try explaining it away as post traumatic stress and getting him admitted to the fourth division. They are required to keep records of all patients, so if you get him admitted, they can't just make him disappear. Once he's admitted, as a taichou, you can demand a review of his case and call for a council to be formed to determine his true condition. That will buy me time to work on a cure. But there are no guarantees, of course. And once they know what his condition is, he will be euthanized. Sick bastards will consider it a 'kindness' since they consider his condition cruel and terminal."

"And my other option is?"

"Run now. But that will make you fugitives and you will have to keep them away from Renji at all costs. If they catch you, they will realize very quickly why you ran…and being a fugitive will rob you of your rights as a taichou. They will be able to quietly kill him and you will be imprisoned and silenced."

"I don't particularly like either avenue," said Byakuya, "but it seems I will retain more power to assist him if we surrender…for the moment."

Kisuke nodded.

"I agree. It will also buy time for me to find that cure. But, be careful. We have to try to keep Renji from acting up in front of the secret mobile corps. You have about a minute to convince him before they come in here…and then you will be taken to Soutaichou for questioning regarding the unauthorized mission, and Renji will, upon your order, be taken to the fourth division. Demand he be seen by Unohana taichou. She will not stand for anything underhanded to be done on her watch."

Byakuya nodded, then watched as Kisuke and Yoruichi left the room. He turned to Renji, who was sitting quietly on the bed and watching him closely. He sat down next to the redhead and took his hands.

"I need you to listen to me," he said quietly, "I am going to be separated from you, but I will make the way safe for you. And I promise that our separation will not be long. When the secret mobile corps enters, you must go quietly with them. They will kill you if you fail to cooperate. I will make sure that they do not harm you. Renji, you must trust me. I know you are not in full control, but you must maintain control now or you will be killed. And I don't want that to happen."

He paused for a moment, listening to the approaching footsteps.

"Renji, before we are parted, I want to tell you something that I should have told you a long time ago. I am grieved that I didn't take the opportunity before, that for so long, I worked so closely with you and kept it hidden. I wished all along that I had had the courage to tell you…but I need to say it and I know you need to hear it."

He paused again as the footsteps grew closer.

"I have always been drawn to you. From the first day I saw you…the day I told Rukia that we would adopt her into our family…I felt something unexpected. And what I felt was so profound that even our initial enmity gave way to it. We are connected more closely than I would have thought possible, so closely that when you were gone, I was lost as well. I knew you had to be alive, because if you had died, I know my heart would have died too. It will die if I lose you now…so know this. I love you. I will fight for you. And I will not let them take you from me. If we are to die, then it will be together. I promise this, Renji. I promise it…and I ask you to trust me…please."

The dark brown eyes stared into his, still hazed with confusion and dangerously stormy, but just before the door opened and the secret mobile corps flooded the room, the redhead's lips parted and he managed a single word.

"B-bya…"

XXXXXXXXXX

_I feel like something inside me just snapped apart and I can breathe again. The monster is still there…and the draining of my heart continues, but Byakuya's words send new strength into me. And even though it hurts like hell, I force down everything to give him something that he needs right now. He's going to be facing down Soutaichou and likely a court-martial…because he came to find me and bring me home. Maybe it was a mistake for him to do that, but he doesn't deserve to suffer for it. And I can tell that what's happening to me is killing him from the inside out. And even though he'll never ever show it anywhere outside of those big, dark eyes, I know he's scared. Everyone else can go on believing that Kuchiki Byakuya doesn't have emotions, doesn't feel fear and insecurities like the rest of us. But I saw that emotionless mask crack and saw the person beneath it. And he can't hide from me anymore. He's afraid of what will happen to me…and doesn't give a shit what it costs him. It will cost him everything if I don't hold it together, so I force down the beast inside and give him what he needs._

_I stay quiet as the footsteps close in on us. And I force out the first meaningful utterance I have in years._

"_B-bya…"_

_I see the tears he forces down as the door opens, then the return of calm and fierce determination. I can feel him gather himself as the secret mobile corps appears. He gives them a calm, unsurprised look and waits._

"_Kuchiki taichou," Soi Fon taichou says in a stern voice, "You were given orders not to attempt to rescue Abarai fukutaichou from Las Noches. He had been declared dead and a rescue mission deemed unproductive. While Soutaichou is relieved that you were able to free Abarai and return unharmed, you are to face court-martial for disobeying his orders."_

_Byakuya nods._

"_I will surrender for questioning regarding my actions in Las Noches. But before yielding, I give orders that my fukutaichou be taken immediately to the fourth division for a full evaluation."_

"_We will see him to the fourth division after his questioning," says Soi Fon._

"_No," Byakuya says firmly, "He is in need of immediate treatment for post-traumatic stress and will not be questioned until after a full evaluation. You have no right to deny my fukutaichou needed medical assistance when I have deemed it necessary. Unless perhaps you are telling me that I have officially been relieved of my ranking."_

_Soi Fon taichou is pissed, but she also knows he's right. She doesn't say anymore, but nods at her group._

"_Take Kuchiki taichou into custody…and Omaeda fukutaichou…you will personally escort Abarai fukutaichou to the fourth division and report back to me as soon as he has been evaluated."_

_I feel a surge of anger as they bind his hands. And even he is taken aback as they seal away his spirit energy. The beast knows we are being separated now and wants to fight. Omaeda shifts uncomfortably as a low growl sounds deep in my throat. But I hold onto control as they lead Byakuya away and turn me towards the senkaimon._

"_Wait," says Kisuke, "I was the one to first examine Abarai fukutaichou. Unohana taichou will want my report…but Abarai-san cannot wait for me to write it all down. Soi Fon taichou, please allow me a medical pass into the Seireitei to assist in his evaluation. It will, I believe, shorten the process…"_

_I have to say…he is one smooth operator. Soi Fon taichou glares at him, then at me, but shakes her head and sighs._

"_Very well…but only for the initial examination. Once his condition is defined, you must leave the Seireitei."_

"_Sure thing," says Kisuke, smiling at her._

_He moves past Omaeda and keeps himself closest to me. As we pass into the senkaimon, he leans in close._

"_Keep that monster in check, Renji," he whispers, "If you blow it now, we are all in major trouble."_

_I can't answer, but I stay very close to him as we pass into the Seireitei and head for the fourth division. It's a cool, beautiful day…one that would have had Taichou and me out in the training grounds, crossing swords and strengthening our use of ban kai. I feel the weight of Zabimaru at my hip, and I wonder why I haven't heard the voice of my zanpakutou. I can't even feel the spirit energy pressing against mine. The weapon feels cold and empty right now. And maybe it makes sense. I would never want a beast like the one inside me to use my powers to hurt anyone. So as long as Zabimaru does not connect with me, then it won't happen. Still, as much as I sometimes hate my zanpakutou, I feel the space inside…_

_I wonder if Zabimaru feels the same…_

"_This way," says a healer, leading me down a long hallway. _

_I'm not being taken to the regular examination rooms, but to the ones in the holding area…the ones where they treat persons of interest in crimes…those under suicide watch…those under heavy protection and also those being evaluated for sanity. I wait as the door to one of the rooms is unlocked and opened, then I start to walk in. _

_As I get my first look at the room, the beast inside me sees too…and goes into a rage at the sight of the padded walls, the bars on the windows. It doesn't want to be a prisoner…and it's fucking stronger than me. Still, I manage to keep just enough control so that I don't attack anyone. Instead, I double over, making horrid growling noises and using my strength to resist being put inside. I won't be able to hold him for long, but Kisuke realizes what's happening and hits me with a blast of kido. If I could speak, I'd thank him, but instead, I just touch his arm lightly as I sink to the floor._

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya knelt before Soutaichou, still bound, his head bowed respectfully. Secret mobile corps fled the room as the captain commander's reaitsu flared hotly.

"You fool!" the old man raged, "Do you know what you have done? Do you have any idea?"

Byakuya raised his eyes to meet Soutaichou's.

"I did what I had to do," he answered softly, "I wasn't going to let you declare him dead and leave him to die there when I knew he lived."

"You knew no such thing! Damn you, you insolent child! We are barely containing Aizen Sousuke as it is…and you put yourself in harms way to save…_him_!"

"Abarai fukutaichou is taichou level. He doesn't wear a haori…"

"And he never will!" the captain commander yelled, "He is as gone as if he had died on that battlefield years ago…and you have only added to the misery of the ones he loved by dragging what's left of him back here to die! You know what I have not allowed to be spoken of, because of the danger. And you know he is one of the affected or you would not have been so careful to protect him when the secret mobile corps caught up with you. You should have just accepted his sacrifice. The man was more than willing to die for you! Now, he'll die anyway and all you've done is to prolong his misery!"

"Kisuke can save him!"

"I don't give a damn what that bastard says!" fumed Soutaichou, "He can't undo this! We have had hundreds of scientists poring over every bit of information we have been able to find. Spies have infiltrated Aizen's fortress and have provided some leads, but everything we know so far leads us to believe that the condition is incurable."

"You haven't even seen anyone affected by this who hadn't been taken over completely," insisted Byakuya, "How then can you know it can't be stopped in its earlier stages?"

"It doesn't matter!" yelled the captain commander, "All of that information is strictly controlled. You are not even supposed to know about this! I can only assume it was Urahara. He always seems to impose himself where he doesn't belong. It is why he has been banished, Kuchiki Byakuya! And if you do not mind where you step, you will encounter a fate worse than that!"

"You cannot cover this up anymore! I know what is happening and you cannot silence me. The elders will stop you if you attempt to interfere with royal privilege!" Byakuya said angrily, "There will be no more lies. I won't let there be!"

The captain commander moved closer, his reiatsu swelling around the bound noble until it burned painfully against his skin.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," he hissed softly, "I am the strongest shinigami in the history of the three worlds. Do you honestly think your elders can scare me? And as far as royal privilege is concerned, it doesn't apply in cases of high treason."

"Is it high treason to attempt to rescue a snared comrade? Is it traitorous to not want to see a person of value tossed aside and abandoned?" Byakuya managed, panting softly beneath the awful weight of Soutaichou's power.

"Don't you understand?" the captain commander said, more softly, "You? Abarai? The other taichous? All are mere pawns in Aizen's plans! The only way to defeat him is to gather our combined strength and fight him. And we cannot afford to have to fight our own! When Abarai was taken by them, the die was cast. We have to consider him lost, because if we put our effort into saving him, we will reduce our focus on the enemy. And in the end, we will lose Abarai anyway and may be attacked by him…and in addition, we will lose you too!"

"Renji won't hurt me."

"I am not speaking about Abarai!" yelled Soutaichou, "I am referring to your own recklessness! While Aizen thinks we will simply execute the lost ones, he will not attempt to use them to attack us. As soon as we show weakness…a desire to sacrifice our safety to treat them, he will capture, turn and send more. Others we value will be lost because we lost our focus on the enemy. We cannot afford that!"

"But we can sacrifice our integrity and humanity…the very things that separate us from the ones we fight?" shouted Byakuya, feeling his control slipping, "I would rather die than to become as heartless as they are!"

"What we cannot afford is for our emotions to make us too vulnerable to him! Your feelings for Abarai are what is behind all of this reckless insubordination! Now, you have already made things difficult. You managed to tie my hands with procedure, but you will lose in the long run. So I offer you this. Abarai will be removed to the Repentance Center, where he cannot cause any damage…and you will accept punishment for disobeying orders. I will allow Urahara to pursue a cure, but the agreement will be that if Abarai becomes violent and harms anyone, then he will be killed."

"Soutaichou, because of his imprisonment, the hollow will likely resist being taken to the Repentance Center…"

"Then you had best hope that there is enough left of your fukutaichou to contain it!"

He turned away and Byakuya felt an icy bolt of tension pass through his still restrained body.

"Now then, your punishment…"

He looked back over his shoulder.

"Ryuujin Jakka has a punishing power known as 'Internal Damnation.' Perhaps you will have heard mention of it."

A shiver went through Byakuya as the words touched his ears. His grandfather had told him about it once.

"It is a power that burns at the soul and causes intense pain, but does not leave any markings or physical damage. I use this because you need to understand the severity of what you have done. I will not imprison you or do anything else outside of this. I need your blade ready at my command. But this should give you pause the next time you think to defy my orders. If you think it hurt to have a zanpakutou pass through your heart, you have no concept of what pain is. You will likely wish I had imprisoned you or had you beaten. You can, of course, invoke your royal privilege as a noble and have your elders apprised of the charges against you. But you know…Kuchiki Byakuya…that if I was able to read the truth of why you went after Abarai, then they will be just as quick to realize. What do you think they would do to you and Abarai…if they knew?"

He moved so that he was whispering into the noble's ear.

"I know what they swore to do to you if you deviated from their codes again…and I know what they would do to your precious fukutaichou…lover."

Byakuya's face went white.

"Renji is not…"

"Stop, right there," Soutaichou warned him, "Do not mistake your lack of an opportunity for innocence. If he hadn't sacrificed himself, then you would have pursued him. You can say what you will…but we both know the truth, Kuchiki Byakuya.

Byakuya's eyes closed and he held his breath.

"Now the choice is yours," said Soutaichou in a softer voice, "you can suffer the wrath of my zanpakutou…or you can demand to be tried by your own, and have the elders learn of your attraction to your fukutaichou. Which will it be?"

Byakuya felt the heady flare of his commanding officer's waiting zanpakutou. Forcing his body to calm, he opened his eyes and met the captain commander's.

"I will accept whatever punishment my commanding officer feels that I deserve," he said softly.

Soutaichou nodded, his anger retreating somewhat as he brought Byakuya back under his control. He looked down at the noble's bowed head and sighed softly, knowing that Kuchiki Ginrei would likely have done much the same as Byakuya. Rebellion seemed to be part and parcel to the power of the Kuchiki bloodline. He wanted to do worse to Byakuya, but he wagered that the pain the noble was about to endure would finally rein him in.

He bowed his head and raised a fiery sphere around them.

"This punishment is between the two of us, and it ends all charges against you…and as long as you do not defy my orders again, this incident will be forgotten. You will return to your post and you will conduct yourself properly from now on. And if Abarai cannot be cured, you will make no further argument on his behalf…do you understand?"

"Hai, Soutaichou, I understand," whispered Byakuya.

The captain commander said no more, but lifted his zanpakutou from its sheath, then brought the tip to Byakuya's unprotected chest. His lips moved, but the words were lost in the horrid flare of fire that seemed to engulf Byakuya from all directions at once. And it wasn't, he found, a simple assault on the mind…but raged against body, mind and heart so viciously, he thought he would disappear into the pain. He couldn't take a breath that wasn't agony, couldn't move or shield any part of himself as the fire tore through him and raked him from end to end. He might have screamed…he wasn't sure. The flames roared through him with so much force that everything else was drowned out. Even as the bonds holding him released and his palms touched the floor, there was no coolness to tame the blazing heat. It pushed in at him from all sides, forcing the air from his lungs. And when he had to breathe, it burned down inside until he choked and gasped against it, falling even farther until he was stretched out on the floor and unable to move. He didn't know how long it lasted…only that there came a point when he felt that he was beginning to die. He knew then that while it was a tool for punishment, it could also be used to kill. That feeling of impending death, then, was a harsh warning. And it was the last warning that he would be given.

He rested on the floor as the flames licked at him and slowly receded. He could feel Soutaichou's eyes on him, but couldn't yet see. He concentrated only on the inhale and exhale of his breathing. He felt his mind spinning and threatening to sink into unconsciousness.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," said Soutaichou, "you have endured your punishment with a strong heart and deep conviction. Go now. And do not forget why you were made to suffer my blade's wrath."

Sensation began to return and he felt the tears on his face, the heavy sweat on his skin, and the all-over stinging that remained. He tried to move, but found himself unable.

"You will return Kuchiki taichou to the sixth division and see that he rests to restore himself," said Soutaichou to someone Byakuya could not see.

When the subordinate's hands touched him, his mouth opened into a chorus of agonized screams. He heard Soutaichou's voice again and then his approach. The touch of the captain commander's kido spell send him spinning into unconsciousness. He didn't feel a thing when he was lifted and carried out of the room.


	5. Determination

**Chapter 5: Determination**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**We feel the ties that bind us together now, beauty and beast that we are. Joined in a mad struggle to survive, we can only be freed if we learn to live as one. Take your roughened claw and touch this blossom lightly. It will not fade for you, but will only yield it's lovely scent.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_I know I haven't come awake yet, but I hear Byakuya scream. I've never heard him make a sound like that, not in all of the time I've known him. After he was injured by Gin, he would moan a little in his sleep, but if he was conscious, he barely ever even raised his voice. That's just how he is. So I hear this sound and I know it's his voice, but I'm thinking that it can't be real. Kuchiki Byakuya, a prisoner to pain? Hurt by something badly enough to tear a scream out of him? If it was true, then it would mean he was dying. Because nothing can make Byakuya break like that…nothing._

_But even as I wander somewhere just this side of consciousness, I feel his pain under my skin and I know he's in agony. I don't know why I can feel it. I couldn't before I was a prisoner in Las Noches. Hell, maybe those bastards did something to me to make me more sensitive. I wonder about it as Byakuya's screams continue to tear at my mind, and then I realize that it is the beast inside me that is causing this. It depends on Byakuya for protection and has been in torment since he was taken away. I can hear its low growl in my mind, repeating Byakuya's words, his promise to return. And beneath the words, I feel the rising anger as it settles over the beast that Byakuya is being hurt, that he is crying out in pain._

_I'm glad I'm in a padded cell, because eventually, the stress of Byakuya's pain drives the beast into a frenzy. It moans and writhes, then forces me to my feet and begins throwing my body against the door in protest. It hasn't got any way of telling them why it has gone out of control, and I wonder if they would really care. It's all the same to them, just crazy, unexplained behavior, just proving that I'm out of control and flailing. After a while, it stops and I slide down the door, and I don't know if it happens because the thing tires out or if it is because Byakuya's cries have died away. I can still feel the heavy pulse of his pain against my beleaguered mind, but I'm relieved that now the beast will need to rest. Its anger wears on me._

_I wonder what, in kami's name they did to him. What kind of hell did they put him through, because he came to save me? I think about those cries and I don't even know what kind of punishment would hurt him like that. I want to go to him and hold him, to make him tea and soothe the pain his punishment left behind. I reach out for him in my mind and I find myself floating, spiraling slowly down into a place I've never been. There are sakura trees everywhere, waterfalls and long walking trails. I feel Byakuya's presence, even though I can't see him. I turn to look behind me and I see my inner world. It's not really too shocking a sight, considering how often I've been there, but it does take me by surprise, especially because I still don't feel the presence of Zabimaru anywhere around. Damn! I wonder if I will ever hear my zanpakutou's voice again._

_I walk forward into what I'm sure now must be Byakuya's inner world. I walk down the trails, honing in on two sources of life in the distance. As I come out of the grove of sakura trees, I see a masked warrior sitting on the ground beneath one of the trees. He holds a silent, motionless figure in his arms._

_It's Byakuya._

_And the warrior is no other than Senbonzakura…_

_He looks up at me and I can't tell what his expression would be because of the mask. He continues to hold Byakuya and stares up at me as I come closer. I don't know if my voice will work, so I try the zanpakutou's name._

"_Senbonzakura," I say, breaking the silence between us, "What happened to him?"_

_The warrior pauses for a moment._

"_It was Ryuujin Jakka," says the zanpakutou's deep voice, "Your Soutaichou attacked my master with the sword's special ability, 'Internal Damnation.' The flames of that blade engulfed him and tormented him to the limits of his tolerance. Eventually, he began to die and the attack was halted. It left him so sensitive to touch, your Soutaichou had to render him unconscious. I am restoring his reiatsu, but he will feel the sting of Ryuujin Jakka for some time."_

"_Bastard…" I mutter._

_All because he came for me._

_I get it. I know what he was thinking, ordering Byakuya not to come after me, declaring me dead. I even understand why he attacked Byakuya like that. But he's still a fucking bastard. I don't give a shit that he abandoned me. Hell, I agree with his thinking, but Taichou only came after me because he loved me. He couldn't help himself. You'd think the old son of a bitch would think about that and maybe hold back a little. But he hasn't remained Soutaichou for a thousand years by going easy on people. He is scarred and jaded. I guess I am too, and that's why I understand. Byakuya understood too, and I'm pretty damned sure he doesn't really blame the old man. In the end, we are all just doing what we have to do._

"_Let me hold him for a bit," I request._

_Senbonzakura looks at me for a moment, then allows me to sit down and take Byakuya in my arms. It feels good to hold him while he sleeps. I did it once when he was still in the healing center, recovering from Gin's attack. His hair feels like silk and his skin is as soft as the sakura petals that float in the air all around us. He looks peaceful as he sleeps, but I can see the signs that the pain is still there. I despise the old man. And the beast…_

_I stop myself._

_The beast. I don't feel him with me. I wonder about that. I wonder if maybe that's why I'm in control here, why I can talk normally._

"_Can we wake him?" I ask, looking down into his somber features, "I want to talk to him."_

_Senbonzakura shakes his head._

"_I haven't been able to wake him since Ryuujin Jakka attacked him. Abarai Renji, something that my master does not yet realize is that Soutaichou did not release the seal on his powers. This was done purposely. I think that he seeks to send a message and to keep him from taking any additional unapproved actions."_

"_Damn!" I hiss, "Snaky old…"_

"_Strategically, it is a sound maneuver," says the zanpakutou._

"_Please," I groan, "You sound just like Taichou!"_

"_Well, I am his zanpakutou."_

"_Yeah, I know. Wait a minute. Hey, why is it that I can see you and talk to you, but I can't so much as sense my own zanpakutou?" I ask._

"_Your body and mind are not your own," explains the warrior, "Zabimaru knows better than to put himself in the hands of a hollow. I can speak to you without concern as you do not control me."_

"_And how did I get into Byakuya's inner world? The only ones who share inner worlds are twins, I thought."_

"_And you are correct, for the most part," the zanpakutou says, nodding, "but your inner hollow has linked to Byakuya's soul. It cannot enter this place, because a hollow has no heart and this place is the demesnes of the heart. As the one whose heart is connected to Byakuya's, you may enter here and I know not to attack you."_

"_That's a relief," I chuckle, a little darkly, "I think I've taken enough of a beating from you…no offense…"_

"_None taken," Senbonzakura said sedately._

"_Look," I ask "is Zabimaru…okay? I mean, I can't talk to him, but he's still there, right? I just can't see him because he is protecting our powers from the hollow, right?"_

_Senbonzakura nods, but I sense there's something unsaid. Zabimaru may be all right for the moment, but…_

_I feel the intensity of the eyes beneath the warrior's mask, and I know that Zabimaru and I are both in a shitload of trouble._

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya woke the next morning to a warning sting of pain. He sensed immediately that, while he could move again, doing so was likely to result in more than a little unpleasantness. He didn't waste any time, bemoaning his fate. He had to admit that, strategically, what Soutaichou had done was in line with his offense. He did not, however, miss the fact that the captain commander had carefully maneuvered him into keeping his mouth shut about what was going on. He had been brutally efficient in doing so.

The brutality set in as he tried to sit up and bit back a groan as his skin flared in reaction. Looking at a mirror provided the information that, while he certainly felt as though his flesh had been pretty much burned away, his body looked whole and unblemished. He shook his head in wonder at the ability of that zanpakutou to inflict so much invisible damage.

He heard a tap on the door and sensed Rikichi's reiatsu.

"Come in," he said softly.

The door opened and Rikichi stepped into the room bearing a tall glass of green iced tea. He met the noble's eyes almost apologetically and set the glass on the nightstand, then sat down in a chair beside the bed. Byakuya suddenly remembered sensing the youth there beside him several times during the night, green, healing light flaring around his hands. He gave Rikichi a look of silent gratitude.

"I…uh…thought that you might not enjoy anything heated this morning," the youth said softly.

Byakuya managed a weak smile.

"I think you are correct," he said, trying to remain still, "Rikichi, is there any news about Renji?"

The third seat nodded.

"Just a little," he said, sounding somewhat reluctant, "He…he got very upset."

"Oh no," Byakuya breathed, "Tell me he didn't hurt anyone."

"No," said the youth, "but he did lose consciousness. They're still examining him, but…"

"But we both know what they'll find," Byakuya finished.

He sighed softly.

"I'm going to need your strongest pain block, Rikichi," Byakuya said, wincing as he picked up the tea, "I need to get onto my feet and go over there. He is in the Repentance Center now, ne?"

"No, actually," Rikichi said, looking up at him, "Soutaichou ordered him to be moved, but Unohana taichou was successful in convincing him to allow Renji to stay in the healing center as long as he is sedated. That way, no one will be injured caring for him."

Byakuya nodded, then winced and bit his lip.

"Then give me the pain block so that we can go," he said softly.

Rikichi looked at him again, his eyes unsettled.

"What is it?" Byakuya asked.

"Well, sir," the youth said haltingly, "It's just that the captain commander, he ordered that guards be stationed here. They were ordered to prevent you from leaving until your reiatsu was fully restored. Unohana taichou came last night to heal you, because Soutaichou became concerned that, in his anger, he went too far in punishing you. After seeing you, Unohana taichou agreed and she spent several hours with you, making sure your condition did not deteriorate. She said that she would have preferred to give you a pain block then, but Soutaichou said that she should leave the pain to inhibit you from leaving."

"I see," said the noble, sighing.

"But," Rikichi went on, "he didn't forbid anyone else from giving you a pain block, so I imagine it would be okay if I did. But then, there's still the matter of the guards."

"Ah, yes," Byakuya agreed, "Well, having dealt with a denizen of the Rukongai for some number of years, I have learned a few things about the art of distraction."

"D-distraction, sir?" said Rikichi uncertainly.

"Yes, that is what I said," the noble said quietly, "Now then, the pain block? I _do_ need to be able to move without being in constant pain."

"Oh! Yes, sir!" Rikichi said, leaning forward.

Byakuya rested against the pillows as the youth's healing power flared around his hands.

"You _do_ know that you will need another in a few hours."

"Of course I do," Byakuya assured him, "I will worry about that. I just need to get on my feet."

He tilted his head slightly, testing his reiatsu as Rikichi finished putting the pain block in place."

"Damn," he swore softly.

"What is it, Kuchiki taichou?" asked Rikichi, "Did the pain block not work?"

"Oh, the pain block worked fine," said the noble, "but it appears Soutaichou is quite determined to hinder me. He has sealed away my power using a very high level seal. I don't think anyone other than Aizen Sousuke or him would be able to remove it, and I can't go to either one, I think."

"No, I don't think so, no," the youth agreed, "So what will you do?"

Byakuya shrugged.

"I will hope that nothing happens that requires the use of my powers," he said softly.

Rikichi's expression told him exactly how likely the youth thought he was to be successful in that endeavor.

"Well," he went on, "we don't have time to concern ourselves with that now. I need to see Renji."

He glanced at the door and picked up his tea tray.

"Take this, and when you are outside the door, before you close it,drop it."

"Drop it," the boy repeated, nodding.

His eyes flared in sudden realization.

"But Kuchiki taichou! You haven't the use of your flash step! How will you get away fast enough?"

"Leave that to me. When the first guard looks down at the tray, stumble into the second and I will move then. I may not have my flash step, but I will be fast enough, not to worry. And besides, if they spot me further down the hallway in the lower light, they won't recognize me if I am not dressed as they expect I will be."

He winced and caught his breath as he climbed to his feet. Rikichi gave him a sympathetic look.

"I am sorry the pain block isn't…"

"You did a fine job on the pain block," he assured the youth, "It is just that Ryuujin Jakka is a very bad tempered blade."

"Oh," said Rikichi, looking both relieved and apologetic.

Byakuya moved gingerly to the closet and pulled out a simple shihakushou. He dressed slowly, with Rikichi assisting, then straightened, swaying slightly. He sighed softly and shook his head.

"I may not be fast enough," he said thoughtfully, "So let's do this differently. You put on my yukata. I think you are tall enough."

"Wh-what?" stammered Riukichi.

"Just do it," the noble insisted, "and hurry."

He waited impatiently as the youth changed clothes. Byakuya brushed the boy's hair down over the left side of his face. He picked up the tea tray and motioned for the youth to join him at the door.

"Thank you, Rikichi," he said, loudly enough for the guards to hear, "That will be all."

"Uh," said Rikichi, "Hai, Kuchiki taichou!"

Byakuya opened the door and stumbled into the nearest guard, dropping the tray so that it fell near the second. Rikcihi stepped forward dragging Byakuya to his feet. The noble leaned closer to the boy.

"Get going, you clumsy oaf," he said, then pulled free and turned down the hallway. Rikichi swept back into the room, closing the door and leaning back against it, his heart pounding like a drum. Byakuya smiled to himself, ignoring the pain as he moved down the hallway and out the back of the division barracks, then turned in the direction of the healing center.


	6. Allies and Enemies

**Chapter 6: Allies and Enemies**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**Sometimes justice is elusive. Sometimes it is not found in the usual places, but hides behind the face of the devil. And even the damned have their weak moments. If they did not, how then would we be saved?**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya was smart enough to know not to attempt to approach Renji on his own, but instead, slipped in the rear entrance of the fourth division and worked his way carefully towards Unohana taichou's office. He heard voices and stopped in the shadows, listening silently until he was certain it was Unohana taichou, herself…and Urahara Kisuke. Seeing no one else about, he moved to the office door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Unohana made a small sound of dismay and Kisuke broke into a smile.

"Well," the former taichou said appreciatively, "I see you managed to give them the slip. Nice going, Byakuya-san!"

"Kuchiki taichou," Unohana said worriedly, "You are barely on your feet. You have no business being anywhere but in a bed, resting."

"I was concerned for my fukutaichou. Soutaichou said that if he harmed anyone that he would immediately be killed…and then I heard that he had an outburst…"

"Yes," said Kisuke, "Interestingly, Renji's outburst occurred exactly when Soutaichou was allowing Ryuujin Jakka to have his way with you."

"And we sensed that it ended as you lost consciousness," added Unohana, "Urahara-san stayed here with Renji while I came to heal you…and to see if I could get an idea of what was between you and Abarai fukutaichou."

"B-between us?" queried Byakuya, "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"Well," said Kisuke, "It seems that you and Renji have some kind of dependant connection between the two of you. It is a strong one. Through it, Renji senses your physical state, the state of your emotions, things like that…"

"Is it known where or when or how this bond was formed?" Byakuya asked.

"I don't know, really," said Kisuke, but I do know that it was not present when Renji arrived at my shop. I have a suspicion I can't yet prove, that it happened around the time the secret mobile corps arrived and you were to be separated."

"So…Renji bound himself to me?" Byakuya asked.

"We are not certain," Unohana taichou said solemnly, "whether the bond was formed by Abarai Renji or by the developing hollow. We have gathered what information we can and are studying it now, but it will take some time to sift through everything."

"And in the meantime, it is critical that we keep Renji from freaking out like he did before. But with you being on such poor terms with Soutaichou, he might have cause. Soutaichou still wants him placed in the Repentance Center. And from what we can surmise, he won't handle that well at all. Besides the lack of spirit energy, he would still be away from you…and we agree that while we deliberate how Renji might be helped, it would be best if the two of you were to…disappear."

"Disappear…" repeated the noble, "Where could we go that we would not be found? Soutaichou would certainly send forces after us…"

"I think that most likely," said Unohana taichou, "and add to that the fact that Kuchiki taichou is still recovering and that his powers can only be restored by Soutaichou. I do not think it safe for them to leave."

"But I believe that they really must. Renji is only going to get more volatile if he stays here."

"And he won't if I take him elsewhere?" Byakuya asked.

"Well," said Kisuke, "I read what I've seen as suggesting that somehow, because of your bond, his symptoms are progressing more slowly…so with you there with him, Renji is better off. We will work as quickly as we can, but you and Renji will have to take care of each other."

"There is still too much of a chance that the hollow could choose to harm Kuchiki taichou," objected the healer, "and they will certainly face other dangers, removed from the Seireitei and on their own…with no powers!"

"I know, but you have to admit that Soutaichou is looking for a reason to have Renji killed, not because he wants Renji to die, but because he is worried about this getting out and the information getting to the wrong person or people. You know the old man. He is very focused of Aizen Sousuke right now. And he has more to fear from the man with Renji running around the way he is and stirring up trouble. He's looking for the surest way out."

"I will take Renji to the living world," Byakuya said calmly, "I will take care of him until such time as the two of you find a cure."

Unohana taichou's answer was interrupted by the sound of running feet, then a healer burst into the room.

"A thousand pardons, Unohana taichou, but Abarai Renji has overcome the sedation again and is fighting his restraints! He has already knocked a guard unconscious."

Byakuya blanched.

"Looks like Soutaichou just got his wish," Kisuke muttered meaningfully.

Unohana's lips tightened, but she nodded tersely.

"Take Kuchiki taichou to Abarai fukutaichou and allow the two to be alone," she ordered the healer.

"Hai, Unohana taichou!"

Byakuya followed the healer down the hallway and could hear the sounds of growling and bodies struggling from a distance. As he arrived, Renji loosed a howl and threw down the guard who was trying to hold him back.

"Renji," Byakuya said, meeting his fukutaichou's wild eyes.

"Bya!" Renji said breathlessly.

"Come, Renji," Byakuya said, leading him out the door.

"Stop, Kuchiki taichou!" shouted one of the guards, "Soutaichou has given the order to execute him! He is dangerous! Get back!"

Byakuya placed himself in front of Renji and backed away. The guards gathered and moved toward them, their eyes aggressive.

"Renji," Byakuya said softly, "We need to run!"

The redhead met his eyes and gave a short nod. He swept Byakuya into his arms and flash stepped past the stunned guards. He raced out of the healing center and down the street. They spotted more guards coming and Renji turned down several small side streets. They worked their way to the senkaimon and passed over into the living world. As they exited the senkaimon, a shout went up from several shinigamis who stood guard on the other end of the gate.

"Hey! It's the ones the hell butterfly warned us about!" one yelled.

Renji held on to Byakuya and flash stepped away. He raced down the streets and finally came to Urahara's shop. Byakuya pulled on his arm and called for him to stop, but the creature inside Renji seemed to have taken control again…and being a hollow, it chose to run to the place all hollows did when they sought refuge…Hueco Mundo. Byakuya yelled for him to turn back, but he only moved faster. He opened Kisuke's garganta and ran through, carrying Byakuya with him.

Byakuya struggled wildly now, terrified of being found by hollows, or worse, Aizen Sousuke.

"I have no powers to protect myself…Renji!" he cried, "Renji, stop!"

Renji slid to a stop and set Byakuya on his feet, then stood quietly, panting softly. Byakuya looked around nervously and spotted a small cave.

"We should get inside," he said quickly, "It is dangerous for us to be out here."

As they turned toward the cave, a chorus of snarls and growls rose up around them and Renji curled a protective arm around the noble. And as Byakuya shivered and pressed close to his fukutaichou, Renji coldly met the eyes of the incoming hollows and fired a cero into their midst.

"A…a cero?" gasped Byakuya, "Renji?"

He pulled free of the redhead and backed away. Renji watched him carefully and the redhead hesitated, looking into Byakuya's frightened eyes. He frowned and his eyes radiated softly with power.

"Renji?" Byakuya repeated, his voice breaking.

More hollows approached and Renji fired another cero from his hands. Byakuya's eyes filled with tears and he turned and ran blindly, terrified that the redhead had completed the transition from shinigami to hollow. Claws tore at him and he heard Renji's snarl as the redhead fired another cero and fought his way through the hollows. Byakuya cried out in terror as the claws tore into his clothes and raked his skin. There was an impact of some kind and Renji's hand pulled him free of his attackers. He broke into a run again but slid to a halt as he was surrounded by more hollows. A strong arm wrapped around his waist and brought him to the ground. Byakuya struggled madly.

"Let me go!" he cried, "Renji…let me go!"

"Shh, do be quiet," hissed a voice that made his blood go cold.

"Do you have him, Gin?" asked a deceptively gentle voice that could only be Aizen Sousuke's.

"Let go!" shouted the noble, "Get your hands off of me!"

He tore away from Gin and turned to run, but found himself suddenly being held by Aizen Sousuke. The former taichou met his eyes with surprising sympathy and touched a hand to his face.

"You have been injured," he said, sending a shock of kido into the noble, "You must let us see to your healing."

Byakuya felt himself disappearing into the darkness.

"Gin…collect Abarai," he heard Aizen say.

He started to fall, but found himself captured in Aizen's strong arms.

"Sleep, Byakuya," his soft voice said, then everything around him slipped away.

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya drifted in and out of consciousness, his mind assailed with dreams of Renji snarling and growling, firing ceros and growing hollow bones on his slender body. He

felt tears on his face and heard soft voices around him. A warm and sweet liquid was brought to his lips and one of the voices around him urged him to drink. The taste was not unpleasant and as it settled in his stomach, he felt the stinging pain from his injuries and from the attack by Ryuujin Jakka fade.

Everything around him became still and quiet. He could feel hands touching his face and body in a way meant for healing. Healing power radiated throughout his body, taking away the last vestiges of the pain. He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep then, all of his thoughts fading into an all encompassing feeling of calm.

Gradually, the fog he was in began to recede and Byakuya heard a quiet voice calling his name.

"Byakuya," Aizen Sousuke said, touching his face.

To his surprise, the bed he was in felt warm and soft, and there was no pain left in his body. He did not seem to be restrained in any way. He imagined that Aizen had other ways of ensuring that he did not escape, but took some solace in the fact that he had been fully healed and made comfortable. His eyes blinked open and met Aizen's warily. His mind still spun and worked slowly because of the medication and heavy sleep, but after several deep breaths, he felt his body responding more quickly.

"You look much better today," the former taichou said, straightening and yielding Byakuya a calm smile.

"Aizen Sousuke," he said, testing his voice, "Why did you bring me here? Where is Renji?"

Aizen let out a short breath and nodded.

"I had you brought to Las Noches so that your wounds could be healed. And as to your second question, Abarai fukutaichou is being kept under heavy sedation while we monitor him. His is an interesting case. You see…when I created the process that was used on him, it was still in the testing stages. I hadn't yet realized what would happen when it was used on a taichou level shinigami like Renji. The hollow reiatsu was strong enough to gain a foothold, and to even take control, but then something odd happened. When Renji came into contact with you, the hollow within him linked with your soul. It needed to feel protected, and it knew that you protected Renji, so it trusted you to see that the hollow that lived in Renji's body remained safe.

I don't know what happened in the Seireitei, but it must have been bad, or you would not have come to Hueco Mundo. I could not stop the hollow attack on you, as you and Renji blundered into a dangerous area…so I healed you as well as I could…and now…here we are."

"How long have we been here?" Byakuya asked, rubbing his eyes gently.

"You came to Las Noches two weeks ago," Aizen told him, "You were in very poor condition. I wondered at the state you were in…then it struck me…that you must have been protecting him. And things began to fall into place…

You are in love with him…and that's why you broke the rules of the military and undertook it yourself to come here…to rescue him. And that love that you feel for him caused the link between the two of you to deepen.

You went back to the Seireitei, or maybe you were captured and taken back…and when you were separated, the hollow inside Abarai reacted violently. Likely, Soutaichou wanted to kill him…and you ran, rather than to lose him. I don't know why you came here. Would you like to tell me?"

Byakuya swallowed hard.

"I didn't choose to come here. It was Renji…or perhaps that the hollow inside him had an instinct to come here when threatened. I did not plan to come this way. But now that we have come here, I need to know…Is there a way to destroy the hollow inside of Renji? Can you tell me how to save him?"

Aizen smiled at him and Byakuya felt a soft chill pass through him.

"At first," said the leader of the hollows, "I thought that the transformation was incurable once begun. However, I am learning from Renji that if the hollow links to another soul with powerful reiatsu, that connection slows the process. That being said, it should be possible for you to send your power into the link and to make the reiatsu cluster that is causing the transformation to dissipate. The problem is that your own reiatsu has been badly depleted. I believe Soutaichou used his zanpakutou's 'Internal Damnation' technique on you, obliterating your own spiritual pressure and leaving you bereft of power…even without the seal he placed on you. You need time to recover your powers, but once you do, there is every reason to believe you should be able to cure Renji yourself.

The two fell silent for several long, uncomfortable minutes.

"Aizen Sousuke," said Byakuya in a quiet, calm voice, "What is it that you plan to do with Renji and me? You brought us here…and you went to great lengths to see to my healing. You obviously did all of that with something in mind, some benefit to yourself. So I will ask you again. What is it that you want from us? What will be the price for helping us to cure Renji's condition?"

Aizen looked into Byakuya's guarded expression and gave him a disarming smile.

"Nothing," he said quietly, "I have every intention of letting the two of you go free."


	7. Rebuilding

**Chapter 7: Rebuilding**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**Born as my future, reborn as a part of my own soul. I can survive with my heart wound around yours, where the steady beat of yours…forces mine to go on…**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Aizen Sousuke," Byakuya said softly, "Do you take me for a fool? Regardless of your friendly words, I know the betrayer in you. You would not take these steps unless they led in the direction you wanted to go."

Aizen's smile widened, a little too charmingly.

"Why Byakuya…I would never mistake you for a man who lacked intelligence. You may recall, that among the taichous, you were the one who I never sought out…I never got too close to. Do you wonder at that? Would you like me to tell you why?"

Byakuya looked into the calm, brown eyes and said nothing.

"Two reasons," Aizen went on, "First, you were the only one among the taichous who I considered intelligent enough to see through my actions…and secondly, I knew I stood little chance of corrupting that pure, just soul of yours. But perhaps now you see that the Gotei 13, the noble houses…even your precious king will fail you when it matters most. Here you lie recovering from wounds dealt to you for following your heart and your sense of justice. I would not treat you so harshly as they have."

"You are the reason I was pushed into disobedience," Byakuya said sharply, "You captured my fukutaichou and allowed your minions to torment and rape him…to make him over into a hollow. And now you act as though your assistance is a gift, though I am certain it carries a deadly mass of conditions."

Aizen shook his head.

"I don't want anything from you, don't you understand, Byakuya?" he insisted, "The only thing I would request of you…is that when I kill that old man, you know, the one that would rather have had you abandon your Renji, the one who would not listen to your cries for justice and mercy, the one who drowned you in hellfire…I want you to replace him in my kingdom. I want you to take his place, leading the Gotei 13."

Byakuya met his eyes squarely.

"Aizen Sousuke," he said calmly, "I would rather cut the beating heart from beneath my own breast than to serve you. You used my sister, one I swore to protect, threw her into harms way without mercy…without conscience. Then you took my comrade, one whose worst crime was that he was loyal to me…and you destroyed him. I may never look into his eyes and see him looking back at me again. I will have to meet the eyes of the hollow you made him into. For someone who avoided me…and who wishes me to lead his army, you have burdened my heart…and the fates of the ones I love with a stunning amount of rancor."

"Rancor," repeated Aizen, actually managing to look surprised, "why Byakuya, you carry on as though I hated you."

"Don't you?" asked the noble pointedly, "Isn't one of your aims to bring down the noble houses, the powerful Soutaichou…our magnificent king? And yet, the ones you have hurt the most in your rise to power are not those you would overthrow…not the powerful, not the influential, not the corrupt. They are the ones who walked the Rukongai, where you, yourself were raised. They are those who would support a just man…but they would not follow you. There is no justice in your being…Aizen Sousuke…only a man obsessed with power and long deprived of any heart."

Aizen smiled at him warmly.

"That, my dear Byakuya, is why I need you in my regime. I will bring power and you heart. And while I may have used foul means to secure my place, when I am king, I will be freed to show mercy to those you would have me spare."

"And why would indulge me so?" asked Byakuya, blinking slowly.

He managed to hold perfectly still as the leader of the hollows leaned forward and kissed him.

"I would indulge you so, because you are worthy, my dear Byakuya."

"Then if you wish for me to bring heart to your regime, it would be wise to see my own heart is protected. If you add to the damage you have already done to it, there will be nothing left of it for you to lay claim to later," Byakuya said reprovingly.

"Which is one reason why I will hand you the key to saving your precious Renji."

"And why else do you do this?" asked the noble.

Aizen laughed softly.

"Very well then, my persistent comrade. I will tell you. The process I used to transform your fukutaichou was in its infancy when he was made over. There were, of course, imperfections in the process. In fact, Renji is the only shinigami remaining alive in his test group. The rest were strong, but nowhere near his level of power. All died but him. I came to wonder what it was that made him different. It wasn't just power…no, that alone wasn't the whole answer. Renji had something the others didn't…and I didn't know what it was that set him apart until the moment that you burst in here and freed him."

He paused and touched the noble's face again. Byakuya sat perfectly still and gave no response, positive or negative. Aizen smiled at him and continued.

"You see…you are a shinigami of great power, Byakuya. And when Renji was taken, there was already a love bond between you."  
"I had no…"

"I am not speaking of a bond that is made in words or even conscious thought, Byakuya. I would think that a man of your intelligence would understand that…and that, as a person of strong heart, you wouldn't have to be told. But as you are being stubborn, I will simply tell you that this love bond existed and that, whether you recognized and admitted it is of no consequence. It was a strong bond…and it held him together, no matter what a beating he took."

Byakuya's eyes blinked several times and his eyes lowered. Aizen's hand slipped beneath the noble's chin and raised his eyes. His voice became soft and deeply tranquil.

"You see…even now…as you just think about what he went through, you are giving off a powerful inductive reiatsu. It can reach over huge distances and cross between worlds. It has no boundaries and cannot be stopped. This is what happened, Byakuya. While he suffered, he felt this reiatsu you emitted…and so the destructive reiatsu our beatings placed in him was corrupted…or…in this case, uncorrupted…counteracted by you and changed into something wholly different. And I can see that, given a little direction, you and Renji can bring about something quite fascinating. I want to be a witness to that…and so, I will keep you close to me until you have cured Abarai completely, for I tell you without guile, you are the only one who can free him."

"But how? How do I free him, Sousuke? If it is possible, then tell me the way."

"I will give you this advice…Love him and you will heal him, but you must heal body, mind and heart. When all are healed, then you will have saved him. Remember this…All things require balance…shingamis and hollows, heroes and villains, love and hatred, life and death. Find the balance point and you will have all you need."

He regarded the noble's weary eyes and pale skin and his eyes grew concerned.

"You require rest, Kuchiki Byakuya," he said gently, "Lie back and close your eyes."

"I have slept for two weeks, Sousuke. I need to be out of this bed and walking before my body begins to atrophy. And I must see Renji…to ensure he is well."

"Well then…if you insist on being stubborn," said Aizen resignedly, "but before you get up and simply collapse again, let me remove the seal that was placed upon you by Soutaichou."

Byakuya hesitated for a moment, then nodded in acquiescence. Aizen leaned forward and raised his reiatsu, then took the noble's wrists and sent his reiatsu into them. The strong bonds shattered, and Byakuya felt the warm surge of reiatsu through his spirit centers. Immediately, he felt himself breathing more deeply, taking in more air, and his body hummed again with life and power. Aizen smiled and nodded his approval, then motioned for Byakuya to follow him.

Byakuya climbed out of the bed and followed Aizen to the dressing area, where he was fitted with a simple shihakushou.

"I would give you something nicer," said Aizen, "but I don't think Soutaichou would take it well with you returning to the Seireitei dressed like one of the Arrancars."

"No," said the noble, frowning, "I don't think he would approve at all."

The leader of the hollows led him out of his room and down several hallways to a glass door. He opened it and Byakuya caught his breath in surprise.

"You like it, ne?" Aizen said quietly, "I had it designed based on the most lovely gardens in the three worlds…those in Kuchiki Manor. I saw them once when I visited there for the cherry blossom viewing."

Byakuya walked into the room and studied the lovely landscaping, long thick grasses and an endless sea of growing flowers. In the center of the room was a large bathing pool with a waterfall spilling into it. When he breathed, the air was fresher than anywhere else he had been in Hueco Mundo.

"This is not one of your illusions?" he asked.

"No," Aizen said, smiling, "This is real. Now, wait here. I will be right back."

Byakuya walked out to a sakura tree beside the rushing waterfall and sat down. He used the time alone to refocus and to think over what he had learned from Aizen.

_He said that a key to helping Renji was creating balance…and it seems I am the balance to the hollow. When you consider that the hollow is merely a soul without a heart…and I am providing the heart to balance it…that actually makes some kind of sense. I do not know what to do to destroy the hollow reiatsu. I imagine I will have to learn that as we go. At least, I have my powers. Had Aizen refused to break Soutaichou's seal on my powers, I would have known he meant us harm. I think he is curious and that is why he protects us. Each moment, as more is revealed about our condition, there is a greater chance that we will become his prisoners. We must move quickly then, to escape him, before his interest in us changes._

He caught his breath softly as he sensed Renji and the hollow's reiatsu entering the room. Aizen let the redhead into the room and then closed the door behind him. Byakuya did not miss the soft click as it locked.

Byakuya rose and watched in silence, as Renji approached him and stood in front of him, looking at him expectantly.

"Renji…" he said softly.

"Bya," Renji said back.

He tried to ignore the soft chill that went through him as he remembered the sight of the redhead firing ceros…and the way his eyes had radiated with hollow power. Instead, he moved forward and stood closer to Renji, looking up into the redhead's relatively blank expression and sighing.

_We need to create and maintain balance…_

His lips curved upward into a small smile…and as he watched, Renji's did the same. He moved closer and brought a hand to rest lightly on the redhead's face, then looked more deeply into his eyes.

"I miss you, Renji," he said softly, "I want you to come back so that we can do more than speak our names. I want to talk to you…to tell you what I should have told you years ago. I did…actually…once, but you were injured and you didn't hear."

His heart skipped at the flicker of memory his words caused in Renji's eyes. He placed a hand on either side of the redhead's face and held him there, looking up into his eyes and watching as they seemed to vacillate between more clouded and more clear. He remained there for several minutes, mesmerized by the sight of them…the struggle for control. Then he gathered his courage and leaned forward, bringing his lips to the redhead's and brushing them lightly together.

"Aishiteru yo," he whispered.

He drew back and waited, gazing up at Renji and watching the play of mixed responses over his features. Finally, the redhead's features softened and he leaned forward and kissed Byakuya firmly on the mouth. The noble did not object, but kissed him back with equal firmness. Renji's hands tightened on his arms and pulled him closer.

"Bya," the redhead said again, and kissed him harder.

Byakuya felt a shiver of warning pass through him as the reiatsu around the redhead began to grow disturbed. He held the noble tightly now, kissing him almost bruisingly. The brown eyes began to shine with a golden glow. Rough hands pushed the noble back against the sakura tree and the redhead's mouth fastened tightly on his. A probing tongue invaded his mouth and he felt himself beginning to panic.

_Maintain balance…_

Byakuya forced down his fears and placed his hands on Renji's shoulders. He pushed firmly until the redhead stepped back, staring at him with hungry eyes.

"You will hurt me…if you are not gentle," he said, taking Renji's hand.

He touched the redhead's hand to his face and kissed the fingertips lightly. Renji stared with a curious expression as the noble's lips touched each finger, then planted a gentle kiss on his palm.

"I like to be kissed gently," he said, leaning forward and kissing Renji warmly on the lips.

There was a glimmer of understanding in the clouded golden-brown eyes and Renji caught his hand at the wrist. He brought the noble's hand to his face and rubbed it lightly against his cheek, then kissed each fingertip before gently kissing his palm. He leaned forward and his mouth found Byakuya's and captured it more softly. Byakuya smiled against the redhead's lips and the two exchanged several more deep, slow kisses. The noble coaxed Renji's arms into wrapping around him and laid his head against the redhead's shoulder.

"Bya," Renji said, tightening his arms slightly, then loosening them again.

They sat down beneath the sakura tree and Byakuya turned to face the redhead. He looked into Renji's eyes again.

"I want Renji to talk to me," he told the hollow, "I want you to let him speak to me."

Instantly, the brown eyes darkened and glowed. A soft growl issued from the redhead's throat.

"It does not mean that I do not wish to speak to you, but Renji is my friend, and I have to make sure he is all right. I care for my friends…all of them."

He watched Renji's face hopefully and finally, the cloudiness left his eyes. He looked back at Byakuya gratefully and smiled.

"Renji?" Byakuya queried breathlessly.

"Aishiteru yo…Taichou," Renji whispered.

Byakuya thought that it might be the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. The hollow allowed just those few words, but Byakuya let them repeat in his mind and the smile refused to leave his lips, even when the hollow assumed control again.

He took Renji's hand and led him to the garden room door. Aizen opened it from the outside and walked with them back to the noble's room. They stopped at the door.

"I can't let him stay with you," said Aizen, "He is too volatile. He would likely kill you in your sleep."

"I have been without Renji for three years," the noble said firmly, "I am willing, I think, to assume the risk."

Aizen frowned, but turned away and left them standing at the door to the bedroom. Byakuya slipped his arms around the redhead and looked into his eyes.

"To sleep in one's arms," he told the hollow, "means that you trust that person. You trust that person to be gentle. I will sleep in your arms…if you agree to be gentle with me."

He waited as the words registered and were swiftly considered. After a time, Renji nodded.

Byakuya smiled, took his hand and led him into the room. He changed into a sleeping yukata, and watched as Renji changed. Then the two climbed into the bed and Byakuya curled into the redhead's arms. He settled his head on Renji's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Good night, Renji," he whispered.

"Bya," the hollow whispered back, kissing him on top of the head and then resting his chin there and closing his eyes.

Outside the door, Aizen met with the guards.

"Watch them carefully," he said, "At some point, they will try to escape. Stop them. Don't injure them, but do not let them escape. I have a great interest in what will happen."

"Hai, Aizen-sama," said the guards.


	8. The Escape

**Chapter 8: The Escape**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**Place your hands on me gently. Make your kisses as soft as the breeze that brushes against our skin. Though taken far from all we know, we will find our way…as long as we remain side-by-side.**_

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

_I feel something strange inside as I wake again and find myself in Byakuya's arms…something different than before. All along, I've felt this other presence inside me. And I felt its power and lack of heart and I called it a monster. I guess that before, it seemed monstrous to me. All it knew was pain and the cruelty of the ones who inflicted it. It struck out because it feared a return of that pain. All of its responses seemed to center around the hurt that was done to me._

_But when I wake this time, I feel something very different. The beast inside me is still there and it still has control, but it is acting in a much different way, staring down at Byakuya and touching his face as he sleeps. It opens his yukata and begins to touch him everywhere, stroking the dark, silken hair, touching his lips, that are almost smiling as he sleeps, sliding down his torso and enjoying the smooth, lovely curves, leaning forward to look more closely at his genitalia…and what I feel now coming from the thing inside me isn't anger, hatred, pain or even lust. It is coming to a realization that there is a difference between Byakuya…me, and him. He is realizing that Byakuya is a living, breathing creature, just as I am…and he is not. He knows he is only using my body. But he doesn't want to do that anymore. He doesn't want to be a parasite that lives off of someone else. He wants to be real._

_And as he sits there, exploring Byakuya's body, he is beginning to believe that Byakuya can make that happen._  
_I don't know quite why…but all of a sudden, I'm scared to death._

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya woke to find that the blankets had been pulled back and his yukata opened and spread out around him. Renji sat beside him, admiring his bared body with a hungry gaze and running light fingers over him, from head to toe. He stroked the raven black strands of the noble's hair so lightly that Byakuya barely felt it. And the hands that explored his skin did so unhurriedly and with heart-melting tenderness. The feeling was so pleasant and the look on Renji's face so beautiful that he wished it would continue forever. But, he reminded himself, despite the fact that Renji had admitted to loving him, it was the hollow delivering the touches, and Byakuya didn't want there to be confusion about where his heart resided. He sat up, and when Renji's hand tried to push him down again, he met the redhead's eyes firmly.

"I want you to stop now," he said quietly.

"Bya," said Renji, trying to push him down again.

"I know you don't understand, but while you and I are friends, we don't have Renji's permission to use his body this way."

Renji looked back at him with a curious expression.

"Friend," it repeated, touching Byakuya's face.

"Yes," Byakuya said, nodding, "We are friends."

He closed his yukata and tied it at the waist, then sat, facing Renji and looking into the redhead's brown eyes.

"There is a difference between a friend and someone you love. You are a friend and there are ways that a friend touches you."

He slipped a hand into Renji's and gripped it warmly. He placed the other hand on Renji's shoulder, looked into his eyes and smiled.

"This is how you touch a friend when you greet him."

He let go of the redhead's hand and shoulder and embraced him.

"This is how you show your affection for a friend…or give him comfort."

He caught his breath softly as Renji returned his embrace.

"There are different touches that you give to a lover. Renji and I love each other, so when I touch Renji, it is different. I will show you if you allow Renji to surface."

The hollow growled softly and glared, his brown eyes taking on a reddish glow for a moment, but as Byakuya gazed back at him and waited, the beast calmed and hesitated. After several long minutes, a shiver went through the redhead's body and he sagged in Byakuya's arms. His head dropped onto Byakuya's shoulder and he groaned softly. Byakuya pulled away and held Renji at arm's length, looking into his eyes.

"I can feel the difference," he said softly, "Renji…"

The redhead stared back at him quietly.

"Renji…the hollow has his own reiatsu pattern…and it is beginning to feel less like a hollow."

"It…" Renji said, swaying slightly, "He…wants to be alive."

Byakuya bit his lower lip.

"I know," he said quietly, "but you and I both know what would happen if we gave life to a hollow. We cannot do that."

"N-no," agreed Renji, "not a…hollow. He wants to be…like us."

The door to the room opened and Aizen stepped in, followed by Gin and several large hollows.

"I am afraid that _I_ cannot allow that."

"What do you mean?" asked Byakuya, "I thought that you said that you would allow me to heal Renji…to free him."

"Yes," said the leader of the hollows, "I did say that…but I am beginning to see where that is not possible. Come…I want to show you something."

Byakuya took Renji's hand and the two followed the others out the door. They moved through a maze of twisted hallways until they came to a large laboratory. Aizen led them inside, then into a room at the back where he motioned to a large, liquid filled tank. Byakuya caught his breath sharply. Inside was the body of a hollow, about Renji's size and build.

"What is this?" Byakuya asked, staring.

"This is a hollow body without anything in it. Gin made it and prepared it as part of the experiment that we were involved in when we captured Renji. You see…what we were attempting to do was to see if powerful hollows could be made to support the Espada I am planning to use. The Espada are definitely powerful enough on their own, but the process used to create them is rather arduous. I sought a faster way to create troops of altered hollows to make a series of strategic attacks on the Seireitei…to distract the shinigami forces as part of my plans. Unfortunately, we were not able to accomplish this and the plans were abandoned. But we kept the prototype of the hollow soldier here. This hollow body was made in a special way. It swallows up reiatsu of everything it kills and it duplicates itself. So first, we tried having it devour other hollows, but unfortunately, the hollow soldier failed to duplicate using his own brethren. Then, we took shinigamis of moderate to great strength and tortured them to raise the level of dark emotion inside them…and starved them so that they began to die. We held them on the cusp, between living and dying until they began to lose their shinigami form and they became hollows. We had another of these prototypes placed in a room with them and let it finish them off and feed on the hollow reiatsu in their tormented bodies. And we expected that each time it ate a shinigami, it would duplicate itself and an equally strong soldier would be created. Thus, these soldiers could be sent into the Seireitei and they would kill and eat whatever shinigamis they met and duplicate, making progressively more hollow soldiers as they marched across the Seireitei."

"But let me guess," Byakuya said in a low voice, "Your little experiment failed."

"Yes," Aizen admitted, smiling in a way that made Byakuya's skin crawl, "You see…the reiatsu clusters that formed and began to take over the tortured shinigamis were too unstable. There was uncontrolled dark emotion…pain, fear, hopelessness, desperation. And when those things connected with the new body of the hollow soldier, they raised his power…but they went out of control and had to be destroyed, because they could not be reasoned with."

He moved closer to Byakuya and placed a hand on the noble's face, watching with curiosity as Renji's eyes began to glow red. Renji growled warningly.

"You see…this hollow inside Renji is different. It was made using the same dark emotions as the rest, but…you remember how I told you that the reiatsu you emitted somehow sustained him? As it held the bits and pieces of your Renji together, it also calmed the reiatsu of the hollow inside him. The reiatsu stabilized and it went on to grow and to become a separate source of sentience."

He turned and looked deep into Renji's eyes.

"Now, there are two beings in Renji's body…sharing it, as it were. There is the Renji you remember…and there is the hollow created from his pain. The hollow soul has realized that it is a separate soul and it wants to live. It needs a body to live in, so it can either overcome your Renji completely…eat him and take over permanently…or it can emerge and possess another body, either an empty body like this one…or one it has taken and emptied of its soul. I was expecting that as you stabilized the hollow and it moved towards sentience, it would devour Renji and take control of his body. But then something happened that I didn't expect."

Byakuya stared at him questioningly.

"The hollow cares about you, Byakuya. It realizes that it needs you to survive. Also, through your acts of caring, the hollow has experienced the love bond you share with Renji…and although it likely knows it could take Renji's body, it also knows that you would be hurt if it killed Renji completely. So it remains in Renji's body, but it still wants to live. But you and I know that two souls cannot share a body for long. One must dominate and the other submit. In this way, the two souls can balance each other and coexist. I don't want them to reach coexistence."

"What are you going to do?" asked Byakuya, taking Renji's hand.

"I am going to have Gin extract the hollow now. It simply cannot remain in Renji's body anymore. Even if not for the possibility that it could learn to coexist with Renji's soul, because it continues to have contact with your inductive reiatsu, it also continues to become less and less dark, and more and more like the shinigamis affecting it…you and Renji. Left inside Renji, it will learn to coexist and will eventually become a part of him…integration, I guess you could call it. If we force it out now, it will still be a hollow. I can place it in the body of this hollow soldier and it will have its own life."

"But you said the process failed before," objected Byakuya.

"That was because I had nothing to stabilize the hollow's reiatsu before it was put into the hollow soldier's body. This hollow has been affected by you. It will be able to stabilize in its new form. Then, I will test it by feeding it some of our shinigami prisoners. We will see if the duplication process works."

He studied the way Byakuya was holding Renji's hand and the protective positioning of his body.

"You said that you wanted to save Renji," said Aizen, "You care nothing for this hollow anyway, so if Gin removes it and I let you go, then your problems are solved."

Gin stepped forward and Byakuya stepped back, blocking the other shinigami's path to Renji.

"I won't let you use Renji…or any part of him, to further your plans," said Byakuya, his heart beginning to race.  
"But it isn't a part of Renji," Aizen said, moving closer and placing a hand on his zanpakutou, "It is a hollow. Surely, you haven't grown fond of it…"

Gin laughed.

"Perhaps he likes rough lovemaking," he suggested, smiling slyly, "I can see how that would be fun."

"Now," Aizen said, drawing his blade, "you will allow us to remove the hollow and we will take it and allow you and Renji to leave. If you resist, we will kill the two of you and take the hollow anyway. What will you do…Kuchiki Byakuya?"

Byakuya's eyes widened as the traitor turned his sword tip down and began to release his shikai. Instantly, he sent a blast of kido directly into Aizen's face and pulled Renji into a run. They burst into the hallway as an alarm sounded and pounding feet echoed in the hallways all around them. The noble did his best to remember the place he had seen on the way to the laboratory…the place that had looked out into the open desert. As they reached it, voices rang out behind them and ceros pounded the walls and ceiling around them. The pursuit was slowed by the falling debris and Byakuya used the time to find the window that looked out onto the desert. He gasped in relief when he found it, and he sent a blast of kido through it, opening up an escape route.

"Stop, Byakuya!" called Aizen, "You won't last ten minutes outside this fortress! Soutaichou will kill him and he will have you executed! You know that!"

The noble ignored him and dove through the opening, dragging Renji along with him. The redhead followed without speaking, but when hollow guards came close, he fired ceros to force them back. Byakuya swallowed hard and kept running. As he and Renji raced across the sand, he realized that someone was pacing them…running alongside them. He tried to move faster and angle away, but the other flash stepped in closer and took hold of him.

"Let go!" he cried, trying to twist away, but he only succeeded in sending both of them crashing to the ground.  
"Stop!" hissed a feminine voice, "It's only me!"

"Y-yoruichi…" Byakuya panted, trying to catch his breath.

She dragged him to his feet and led the two men to a garganta. Byakuya held Renji's hand tightly and passed through the garganta, then stood, shivering softly as it closed behind them.

They stood in a small warehouse, somewhere in the living world. Yoruichi immediately opened a senkaimon.

"This is the Shihoin family senkaimon," she told Byakuya, "not monitored by the Gotei 13. Come on…the stealth force will be right behind us!"

She led them into the senkaimon and out into another warehouse, then to a small market, then to a small house beside a lake, somewhere Byakuya had never been. They stopped there and Yoruichi produced two gigais. Byakuya slipped into one and helped Renji into the other.

"Arigato," Byakuya said in a shaken voice, "I didn't know where we could go. Aizen wants to expel the hollow, but he wants to use it to create a duplicating hollow soldier, so he can attack the Seireitei. But if we return to the Seireitei as Renji is now…Soutaichou will have him killed and this time, he will have me executed for high treason."  
Yoruichi nodded.

"That's why Kisuke had me track you down. I couldn't do anything while Aizen had you inside the fortress, but once you broke out, I was able to conceal where you went. With those gigais on, no one will be able to find you. Kisuke wanted me to tell you that he and Unohana taichou have found something they can do to help Renji, but the process is difficult and it will take time to prepare. He is meeting us here to explain what you need to do while you wait here in the living world. But Byakuya…the most important thing is…you cannot allow yourselves to be found by the Gotei 13 or the hollows."

"We will be cautious."

He started to say more, but was interrupted as a senkaimon opened. Yoruichi moved between Byakuya and Renji and the man coming through, but stopped and dropped her guard as she realized it was Kisuke. She smiled in greeting, but the smile faded quickly as she registered the distress in Kisuke's expression.

"Open another senkaimon…quick," he said sharply.

Yoruichi turned and opened a new senkaimon. The four passed through and out of the cottage as flash steps began to sound and the secret mobile corps began to appear around where they had been. They emerged in a crowded mall. Kisuke turned to Byakuya and Renji and searched them carefully. Byakuya frowned as the shopkeeper located tiny tracers on each of them.

"They had these tracers placed on you before you escaped the Seireitei. They couldn't do anything while Aizen had you, but when you escaped, they came after you."

He handed the tracers to Yoruichi.

"I think you know what to do with these. I'll take these two somewhere safe, then I'll see you back at the shop."  
Yoruichi nodded and flash stepped away. Kisuke turned to the two waiting shinigamis.

"Come on, we'll find a private place to talk and then I'll take you somewhere safe."

He led them into an interior hallway in the mall, then into a deserted shop. Kisuke looked around and reached out with his senses, then nodded in approval.

"We've lost them for now."

He gazed at the two for a moment.

"Unohana taichou and I have come up with something."

"What is it?" Byakuya asked.

"Well, as you know, Renji-san has a hollow inside him, grown from the pain that Aizen's goons inflicted on him."  
Byakuya nodded.

"It was part of a plan," he explained, "He wanted to create a hollow soldier…one that ingested the reiatsu of whatever it killed, then duplicated itself. He could send just a few…and each time it attacked someone, a new one would be born…again and again…expanding in number until the numbers would be overwhelming. In this way, he could attack without having to collect and train forces of his own. Just a few of these duplicating hollow soldiers could wreak havoc on the Seireitei."

"Do you think it would have worked?" asked Kisuke.

"I do not know," said Byakuya, "but he seems determined to try."

"And you seem pretty determined to protect Renji…and this hollow."

"But Renji and I…when I am with Renji, it has an effect on the hollow's reiatsu."

Kisuke nodded.

"That's one of the things I noted in my observations…as you interacted more and more with the hollow, it began to change. It's reiatsu has been slowly changing ever since. And now it is less like a hollow and more like a shinigami."  
"But what do we do? Aizen created a hollow body to contain it…"

"And I have the means in my lab to create a shinigami body," said Kisuke.

"But…" Byakuya said, wide-eyed, "that is…not allowed. We aren't allowed to make…"

"I know that," said Kisuke, "but we have had the technology for a long time. It was begun with the idea that shinigamis hurt in battle could be placed in a replacement body. It was a fascinating experiment. If it had worked, everyone could have had a 'back up body' stored somewhere, so that if they were hurt fatally, the ruined body could be replaced. Unfortunately, there was a problem with taking a soul from its natural body and trying to bond it with the replacement. The experiment failed."

"Then what makes you think you could make a body for this soul?"

"It isn't actually attached to Renji's body. I think we could make it attach to a body we give it…but I need time to craft the body…and I need flesh samples and reiatsu from you and Renji."

"Why?"

"Because although Renji's body holds the hollow, yours holds the reiatsu that keeps the hollow stable. To make a complete soul will require both."

"So this soul…this shinigami…would be…ours?" Byakuya asked, glancing at Renji.

"It will have to be an infant," Kisuke explained, "because I don't think you two can stay in hiding long enough for me to mature the body to adulthood…and even if I could, the soul would need to do all of the social and emotional growing in its normal timeframe. The hollow soldier didn't need to have much intelligence or social ability, but if you want this soul to be a living, breathing shinigami with a fully developed mind and conscience, it has to be raised from infancy."

"But…you're saying that it won't be a hollow?"

Kisuke nodded.

"If you do as I tell you, the hollow reiatsu will fully stabilize and it will become like yours…not hollow anymore, but balanced. We will seal that balanced soul into the body I grow for it and it will be a shinigami. But while I grow the body, you have to stabilize the hollow reiatsu."

"How do I do that?" Byakuya asked.

"I have to enclose the hollow in a special chamber inside Renji…and you send your reiatsu into the chamber several times every day to gradually prepare it. Has the hollow any use of hollow powers yet?"

Byakuya nodded.

"It can fire ceros…strong ones."

"Then you will see those powers weaken and you will sense the potential for use of kido."

"And how will we know when the soul is fully shinigami?"

"It should be something we can sense, but it's hard to know, because no one has ever done this before."

"So," said Byakuya, frowning, "You don't even know if this will work…if the one we make will be shinigami, hollow or something else."

Kisuke shook his head.

"That's why we're in hiding. We can't guarantee anything, so we wouldn't be able to get permission. But, you know, if you don't want to try this, you could always go back to your pal, Aizen…"

"No," said Byakuya firmly, "That would be a knowing act of treason. He intends to use this soul as a weapon against us. I cannot allow us to fall into his hands."

"Well, I'm pretty sure you don't want the two of you to die, so I think going to Soutaichou is out, too."

Byakuya nodded.

"It seems then, that there is no other choice than to trust you…and to attempt this…unless…"

"What?" Kisuke asked.

"Aizen said that the hollow could be integrated into Renji's own soul. Is that possible? Could we just leave it inside him and try to integrate it?"

Kisuke shook his head.

"We thought of that…but the soul inside you has been altered to the point where it cannot simply be absorbed. It is a functional, separate soul and needs its own form. This is the only way we think it will work."

"So…if we agree to this, Renji and I will go into hiding and I will work to stabilize the soul within him…and you will grow an infant body to hold the new soul. Is that it?"

"Yeah…then the only problem is…what to do once the soul is placed in the infant body. You will still be sought by the secret mobile corps…and you can bet Soutaichou will be steamed when he knows what we did."

"But he will no longer be able to claim that Renji is a danger. He will have to admit that Renji is cured…and that the child is a shinigami child…and protected by our laws."

Kisuke nodded.

"All true," he admitted, "but you are going to take a big fall, Byakuya-san. Everyone else will be covered, but you will be the one to be punished for all of this."

"Maybe," said Byakuya thoughtfully, "but maybe if the clan acknowledges the child's connection to me…maybe the clan will act to protect me."

"If they don't want to see you die for breaking their rules again, Byakuya-san. And that's a pretty big if…"

"I understand," Byakuya said softly, "and I will assume that risk. If we go back now, Renji will be killed and I will likely face heavy charges and have no help from the clan. I have no choice but to hope that this works."

"And if it does," said Kisuke, "are you prepared for the consequences? You and Renji-san will essentially become this new soul's parents. Are you sure this is what you want? Are you sure this is what _Renji-san_ wants?"

Byakuya shook his head.

"I am sure of nothing. I only know I love him and I don't want to lose him now that I've brought him home.

Whatever it takes…whatever it costs, I want Renji back. I want him to be the only one inside this body. Everything else is secondary."

"Even your own life?" asked Kisuke.

"Even that," answered Byakuya, squeezing Renji's hand.

"Okay then, here's the plan."


	9. Things Given

**Chapter 9: Things Given**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**This love I feel is a full surrender. No matter what comes, I will not leave your side. And I will give all of myself to protect you. I ask nothing in return, but see the promise written deep within your eyes.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Damn!" hissed Kisuke, "We've been found again!"

Byakuya took Renji's hand and followed silently through the darkness, out the back of the abandoned building they had been in and into the field beyond. They moved in soft flash steps, side by side through the long grass and into the next neighborhood, where Kisuke paused, listening to the raised voices in the distance.

"Byakuya-san," he said in a low voice, "I am not going to be able to place the reiatsu in Renji in a containment chamber. As you can see, we are being viciously pursued. So you are going to have to use your powers on Renji as I said, but because there is no chamber, you can expect that the hollow will have control. I will warn you that Renji's reiatsu is weakening. We have to get that hollow out of him as soon as possible."

Byakuya thought for a moment, then met his eyes warily.

"Can you move the hollow…into my body instead?" he asked softly.

"If I did that, Renji would still be too weak already to be any help to us. And you would weaken as well. No. We have to leave it where it is and have you use your healing powers to stabilize it."

"Without a chamber?"

"Yes. It can be done, but it will put a greater strain on you because the power is dispersed instead of compacted. You and Renji will have to eat and drink to sustain yourselves during the process. It will be pretty demanding. You will have to do this while trying to stay out of sight."

He handed the noble a business card.

"This is an old friend in the next town. Take Renji and go to him. He runs a bar there and he owes me a few favors. He'll probably ask you to help him out in exchange for room and food. Stay with him. Keep your gigais on except when you are stabilizing the hollow…and even when you do that, conceal yourselves in a reiatsu cage. That way, you won't be traced. Go now!"

Byakuya nodded and held Renji's hand as they flash stepped away. Kisuke watched them leave and then disappeared, himself. Byakuya looked back behind them and saw and sensed no sign of pursuit. He slowed to a walk to conserve energy and to give off less reiatsu. Renji followed quietly, his eyes on Byakuya.

They reached the end of town and crossed several wide fields, then passed into the next town. They moved down the dark, quiet streets, following the directions on the back of the card and soon found themselves outside wooden building with the name _Yuu's_ on the sign outside. They entered the bar and were stricken by the smells of smoke and alcohol. Byakuya led Renji to the bar and approached the bartender, who was middle-aged and medium height with short brown hair and friendly brown eyes.

"I am looking for the owner," Byakuya told the man, "I am a friend of Urahara Kisuke."

"Urahara-san, eh? Haven't seen him for a while…"

The man gave Byakuya a closer look, then nodded.

"This way," he said, leaving another worker behind the bar.

They walked up a set of stairs and into a living section above the bar. They followed the man into one of the rooms and he closed the door behind them.

"I am Yuu," said the man.

He reached out a rough, calloused hand, which Byakuya accepted. Yuu's eyes narrowed and he pulled Byakuya's hand into the light. He studied it for a moment, stroking the back gently. Then he studied the noble appraisingly from head to toe.

"You say you will work for room and meals for the two of you?" he asked.

"I will," Byakuya said, "My colleague is…mute…and so I don't know that…"

"Oh…I have jobs for both of you," he said, giving them a kind, but slightly crooked smile, "You see, this isn't just any old bar. The ones who come here are…well, they're on the other side…you know, not interested in ladies. They like men."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Gomen nasai, when I said work, I did not mean…"

"Easy there, princess," Yuu said quickly, "You don't have to fuck them. I got other guys to do that. You can just be some eye candy and help me serve their drinks. And your friend can help me by throwing out any punks that come in to cause trouble. Can you handle that?"

Byakuya nodded.

"That will be acceptable. Arigato. But you should know that we are trying to avoid attention."

Yuu chuckled amiably.

"I doubt someone as pretty as you can do that, ne?"

He laughed again at the flush that rose on the noble's cheeks.

"Here," he said, handing Byakuya two necklaces.

Each was bright silver with a red stone.

"Wear them when you work. Blue stone means 'Ask me' and red stone means 'hands off.' The regulars all know, but the occasional newcomer might need a reminder."

He looked around the room they were in.

"You and your friend okay sharing a bed?" he asked, "This room only has one, but one of you could use the couch I suppose."

"This will be fine," said Byakuya, "Again, arigato."

Yuu tilted his head slightly.

"You are just lovely…and the way you talk…"

He walked to the door, then paused and looked back.

"You know, if your strong silent type over there ever does you wrong, I'll be happy to take care of you…"

Byakuya blinked and stared, but couldn't think of an answer.

"Cute," Yuu said and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Byakuya shook his head and sighed in annoyance.

"Why I ever trusted Urahara-san…but then, he did send us somewhere they aren't likely to look. No one would believe I'd ever set foot in a place like this…"

He heard footsteps in the hallway, soft laughter, then a door opening and closing. A few minutes later, moans and gasps of pleasure began to leak through the walls. He looked back at Renji, who sat quietly on the couch, watching him.

"I imagine that we should see to the reiatsu stabilization," he said, taking Renji's hand and leading him to the bedroom.

They removed their gigais and Renji laid down on the bed, while Byakuya knelt next to him, first raising a reiatsu cage to hide the exchange of spirit energy, then extending his hands over the redhead. He moved slowly from head to foot, releasing his reiatsu into Renji's body and letting it run through the length and breadth of him, chasing the hollow reiatsu, curling around it and slowly stabilizing it. His head bowed and the power burned in his veins. Renji reached up to touch his face with gentle fingertips as he worked and Byakuya smiled down at him. He remained at the redhead's side, working for several hours at the exchange, then sliding back and withdrawing his hands. He climbed slowly to his feet, then fell to his knees on the floor, his head spinning. He felt warm arms wrap around him, lifting him gently and setting him down on the bed.

"We have to put on our gigais," Byakuya said sleepily, "They help to conceal us."

Renji put on his gigai, then helped Byakuya into his and laid down next to him on the bed. Byakuya turned and curled into the redhead's arms, resting his head on a muscular shoulder.

"Arigato, Renji," he said quietly, "I shouldn't have tried to get up so quickly after the stabilization. Kisuke did warn me that it would be taxing. But…I do have to work…"

Renji's fingertips touched his lips, silencing him, then his fingers ran through the long strands of midnight black hair. Byakuya sighed and let himself drift off, promising himself that he would only rest for a short time before reporting to work. When he woke, it was already well into the next day. He dressed quickly and slipped out of the room, leaving Renji sleeping.

He returned to the bar and waited as Yuu served a customer.

"Weeell," said the bar owner, "I didn't mean that you had to start right away, princess…but seeing as you want to help, why don't you take these drinks over to the group of guys over there."

"My name is Byakuya," the noble said shortly, taking the tray and turning towards the waiting patrons.

"Byakuya," repeated the smiling bartender, "I like that…"

Byakuya reached the table and was immediately glad the he had some inkling of what the mixed drinks were. The patrons called them odd names, but he memorized them quickly as the afternoon wore on. The bar became busy in the evening as people left work and came to relax. Most of the patrons seemed to respect the meaning of the red stone, but as he delivered a drink to a very large, very drunk, unshaven man with ragged hair and horrid breath, the drunk wrapped a large hand around the noble's slender wrist and pulled him into his lap.

"Howzabowt some of your sweetness…" he drawled, grabbing Byakuya's chin and dragging him in for a kiss.

A quick strike to the solar plexus and the man fell forward, gasping. Byakuya rose, trying to ignore the eyes that watched from all around.

"Drag 'im outside," said Yuu, winking at Byakuya, "He's had enough!"

Two other employees dragged the man out the door and returned without him. Byakuya returned to the bar.

"Gomen nasai, I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I would like to avoid it."

"Fat chance, prin…er…Byakuya-san. You're going to get some of that. Look," he said, leaning closer, "I can see you haven't spent a lot of time in dumps like this, but Urahara-san wouldn't have sent you here unless he thought it was necessary, so just try to relax a bit and you'll fit in better."

He reached out and brushed several stray hairs away from the noble's eyes.

"You look tired, Byakuya-san. You didn't have to work so soon after arriving. Why don't you take some of the stew and tea from the kitchen and go upstairs and rest for the night? I'll have plenty for you to do tomorrow. You're a quick study. You did good for your first day…specially for a guy who doesn't look so much like he ever served anyone, but was served, if you know what I mean."

Byakuya nodded wordlessly and slipped into the kitchen. He spooned out two bowls of stew and poured the tea, then carried the tray upstairs to his room. Renji was awake and sitting quietly on the couch when he returned. He accepted the stew and tea and sat eating as Byakuya set down the tray with his food on it and turned toward the bedroom.

He longed to take off the confining gigai, but knew he couldn't afford to risk discovery. The human form had left him with aches and pains in his back and legs and his head ached from smelling alcohol and smoke all afternoon. He knew he should eat, but instead, removed his clothes and showered, then returned to the bed and collapsed onto it.

He looked up as the door opened and Renji entered, carrying the tray bearing his stew and tea. He set it in the noble's lap and sat down on the bed.

"Eat," he said firmly.

His stomach protested at the thought, but after the first few bites, he realized how hungry he actually was and finished the stew and tea. Seeing he was finished, Renji pulled the noble close and laid down on the bed. Byakuya curled into his arms and was asleep almost immediately.

The noble woke early the next morning still aching from the day before. He sealed the two of them into the reiatsu cage, before spending several hours stabilizing the hollow's reiatsu. As he finished the exchange, a soft knock sounded on the door. Byakuya left Renji sleeping and went to answer it. Yuu stood outside the door, holding a tray bearing fruit, oatmeal, toast and tea.

"Thought you might be hungry and I got a message from Urahara-san."

He handed Byakuya a small, white envelope and set the tray on the coffee table. Byakuya opened the note and read quickly.

_Byakuya-san, We're making progress on our project. It shouldn't be too long. Sorry if the situation at Yuu's is a bit uncomfortable, but I really didn't have a better option. Keep your heads low. The secret mobile corps has been spotted in your town. Also, there have been quite a few hollow attacks in Karakura Town and the one you're in as well. Be cautious. I'll be in touch._

"Not good news, eh?" said the bar owner.

"It is not good or bad really…It just is…" Byakuya muttered.

He shook his head and sighed.

"Arigato, for bringing this. I appreciate your assistance."

"Ah, no problem…but…erm…maybe you might want to know. Someone came in after you went upstairs last night, asking a lot of questions…Tall guy with squinted eyes and silver hair."

Byakuya caught his breath softly.

"Gin," he whispered.

"I knew better than to tell him you were here. He didn't seem to know…just asked if anyone looking like you had been around. I said I hadn't seen you and he left."

"That man is dangerous," Byakuya told Yuu, "You may come to regret helping us."

"Nonsense," said Yuu, looking up as Renji came out of the bedroom and joined them, "Things have been boring around here…and besides, I owe Urahara-san. He got me out of a real jam a few years back. I'd tell the story, but I have to go. Got some repairs that are waiting. Maybe your friend can lend a hand."

"His name is Renji… and I am sure he would be willing to help you."

They followed Yuu back to the bar and Renji left to help the bar owner. Byakuya fell to assisting with the serving of drinks. He watched carefully, but saw no sign of Gin or anyone else who looked familiar. At some point, he noticed that Renji had returned and was now posted near the door, watching the room for any sign of trouble.

"Byakuya-san," said Yuu, "Would you mind taking that trash out to the dumpster in back?"

The noble nodded and picked up the bag Yuu had indicated. He carried it out the back of the bar and into the delivery area. He had just placed the bag in the dumpster, when strong arms grabbed him from behind and something crashed into the back of his head, sending him to his knees. His hand reached to remove the gigai to allow him use of his powers, but a hand slammed into his back, forcing him down onto his stomach.

"Awright, bitch," the drunk from the night before growled, "We'll see how you like getting knocked around…"

He twisted free and started to rise, then was thrown down again, by a second attacker. He heard low laughter as others joined the two. A filthy piece of cloth was shoved into his mouth and too many hands held him down. Clumsy hands clawed at him, tearing his clothes off.

"I get him first," said the drunk, "then you can do what you want with him."

There was more harsh laughter, then rough hands forced his legs apart. The drunk placed a hand on the back of Byakuya's neck and he lowered himself over the noble's back, moving in between his thighs.

"This is going to hurt, sweet thing…" he said in a low voice, "You look tight…"

Byakuya shivered as large fingers crawled down his back and touched him at his entrance. Then he heard the back door of the bar slam against the wall and the drunk was torn from his back. The hands holding Byakuya tore free and startled voices around him rose into shrieks. He pulled the gag from his mouth and looked up as Renji stood, holding his attacker by the throat, his eyes glowing a wicked red.

"N-no!" he gasped, ignoring the fact that he was naked, and surging to his feet.

He grabbed the redhead's arm.

"Just l-let them g-go, Renji," he pleaded.

He leaned closer.

"If you use your cero, you will give us away," he whispered, "Let them go."

Renji growled and shook the drunk once more…then he let the man drop into a heap on the ground. The back door of the bar banged open again and Yuu appeared with a shotgun in his hands. He aimed it at the attackers who remained, and laughed as they turned and fled. Soon, only the three were left on the back dock.

Yuu looked at Byakuya sympathetically.

"Damn, I'm sorry. They usually don't mess with us like that…"

"It's…I'm f-fine," Byakuya managed.

He caught his breath in surprise as Renji swept him into his arms and flash stepped back into the building and up the stairs so quickly that no one in the bar could see. He set Byakuya down on the couch and went into the bedroom. He returned a moment later with a brown yukata. Byakuya wrapped it around himself and tied it at the waist, then sat quietly as Renji removed his gigai and raised a reiatsu cage around them. He leaned over Byakuya, carefully healing him, then put his gigai back on and carried the noble to the bedroom. He laid Byakuya on the bed and climbed in next to him, then curled his body around him. Byakuya felt warm lips touch the back of his neck, then his shoulder.

"Arigato, Renji," he whispered, closing his eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

Outside the bar, on the back dock, a dark form flash stepped into the delivery area and paused, reaching out with his senses. He walked in a slow circle and paused, then leaned down and picked up a piece of bloody clothing. He sniffed at it, then tasted it and smiled wickedly. He summoned a hell butterfly.

"Aizen-sama…I have picked up his trail…just outside of Karakura Town. I will have him for you soon."


	10. Slow Dance

**Chapter 10: Slow Dance**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**We move together, like parts of a whole, bending and swaying…like lovers in a slow dance. I can be strong as long as you turn and move with me…your fingers in my hair, your hand on my back and your lips whispering softly against mine.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_I find it hard to believe what I'm seeing. Right before my eyes, my Taichou changed…and I still don't know how it happened. He still looks the same as he sleeps. We've slept side-by-side on the battlefield often enough for me to know. But when he's awake, I hardly know him._

_He was always so closed off, so distant, and with most people, he still is. But not with me…or I guess I should say, not with this hollow inside me. Because I am too weak to fight him now. He's not trying to hurt me anymore. I think he knows that Byakuya cares for me…and that makes him wary of harming me. But my body wasn't meant to hold two individual souls. It's wearing me down…and I feel my spirit wavering. I know we don't have long…and the worried look in my Taichou's eyes tells me that he knows it too._

_He leans over me and looks down at me with unusual kindness in his eyes. The only time I ever saw that in him was when Rukia was crying over those dead siblings she had known when we lived in the Rukongai. His eyes got soft and sad like that…gentle, and while everyone else stared and didn't know what to do, he walked to her and offered her a hand. He didn't say a word, but I saw the way he looked into her eyes. It was a way of looking that said he knew exactly how she felt. Because he lost someone special before…and even though he kept it inside, his heart screamed and sobbed like she did. Rukia saw it and understood. She didn't see the tear that welled up in his eye when she took his hand and dried her eyes, and they turned for home._

_But I saw it…_

_Yeah, I've known for a long time that Taichou had a heart. He just doesn't always show it. He can't afford to. The leader of a division of the Gotei 13 has to be calm and dispassionate. The leader of a clan has to be proper and stern…regal. He does all of that perfectly…and yet, there is humanity in him that hardly anyone sees. Rukia…children he encounters…and now this hollow inside me. And maybe that makes sense. Because this hollow is childlike in many ways…and when it is placed in a body, it will be a real person, just like we are…but a baby. That's what he sees when he looks at me now…and it's what he protects._

_It amazes me to watch him, though…to see him go from the strong, powerful Taichou I know, to this quiet, obedient hardworking human. I watch him move from table to table, taking orders, ignoring the flirtation…serving…and not fighting back at all when someone starts shooting his mouth off. He has me to step in if they get too offensive. But even though most of the taunts and flirtations are meant to be amusing, I can tell he doesn't like being the center of attention that way. It wears on him. And the gigai makes him feel suffocated and sore on top of that. By the time he goes upstairs, there is a sad, tired look about him that makes me ache for him. He doesn't want to eat, but he does it anyway, because it's necessary for the stabilization. Between his job and the stabilization, he hardly sleeps. Yuu can see it too and he's trying to help by having someone come up every so often with our meals and insisting that Byakuya only works when he really needs the help. Me, he keeps downstairs more, because there are always bums that need to be sent on their way. But I'm not run down by that kind of thing. In fact, I kind of like it…especially when the bums I throw out are the ones that were bothering Taichou. I guess it's just in my nature to want to protect him. And I think he takes comfort in that. The night he was attacked on the back dock, even though it was the hollow that did the protecting, I didn't miss how tightly he held on to me…or the look of desperation in his eyes as he calmed the hollow. I felt him shaking as I carried him up the stairs…and he was still shaking when he took the yukata._

_We need to get out of this place._

_It's not good for him to be here._

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya forced his eyes open and sat up, leaning over Renji, preparing to remove his gigai and to begin the stabilization. A shiver went through him and he swayed dizzily as he reached down to remove his gigai. His hand stopped and he bent forward, his brow furrowing as red hot pain fired itself through his spirit centers.

"Bya?" said Renji, sitting up and placing an arm around his shoulders, "Bya?"

"I…I'm…" Byakuya whispered, panting softly and bending farther forward.

His spirit centers burned and stung from the constant over use and the gigai left him feeling like he couldn't breathe. Renji moved around in front of him and removed his gigai. The noble's breathing slowed and he opened his eyes again, watching as Renji began to raise the kido cage around them.

As the cage materialized, Byakuya's eyes closed and his mouth opened in a gasping, pained cry.

"St-stop! Renji, stop!" he hissed, his body seizing with agony.

The redhead dropped the cage and pulled the noble into his arms.

"I know you don't understand what is going on, Renji," Byakuya said, trying to inject calm into his voice, "but the pressure on my spirit centers from the constant use is overwhelming them. I have threshold sickness from pushing myself too hard. So…you have to tell…Yuu. Tell Yuu…we need…Urahara-san."

Renji hesitated, staring down at the noble.

"G-go Renji," Byakuya said, his voice fading, "We need…Urahar…"

His eyes closed and he fell against Renji. The redhead shook him gently, then harder.

"Bya…Bya…" he moaned softly

He stared at the noble, then looked at the door…then back at Byakuya again. A tormented look crossed his features. He lowered Byakuya onto the bed and flash stepped out of the room. He ran down the stairs and up to the bar, where Yuu looked up and smiled at him in greeting.

"Renji-san…everything okay?"

Renji shook his head.

"Bya…" he said urgently, "hurt."

"Your friend, Byakuya is hurt?" the bar owner asked, his eyes growing concerned.

He turned to the other man behind the bar.

"Watch things," he said, shortly.

The other man nodded as Renji and Yuu ran up the stairs. As they entered the room, they saw Byakuya pushing himself to his feet. Renji flash stepped forward and caught the noble as he fell. He set Byakuya back on the bed and patted his face gently. Byakuya stared up at Renji and Yuu, groaning as pain flashed through his spirit centers again.

"G-get…Urah…Urahara-san," Byakuya moaned.

Yuu frowned at him.

"What's the matter? You don't like me?" he asked reprovingly,

"B-but…you…this…"

"Easy Princess," the bar owner said, reaching up and removing his gigai, "You aren't the only one who's incognito here. Take a couple of slow breaths and calm down."

"You…are…"

"Yeah, I am," the bar owner said, leaning over Byakuya, "Spent some time in the second division…secret mobile corps."

"But they're the ones who…who we are…evading!" objected the noble, "And h-how does work as an assassin m-make you qualified to d-deal with threshold sickness?"

"It doesn't," Yuu admitted, focusing and locating the noble's pattern of spirit centers, "but one way I killed was to blow the spirit centers…and to destroy them, you have to understand how the things work. Now…I know you've been burning yourself out using your healing powers for something. You burned your spirit centers and now anything that moves through them is going to feel like fire inside you. Can't raise a reiatsu cage around you and can't treat it without healing reiatsu, so we have to do this quickly, then we have to make sure you aren't caught."

He turned to Renji.

"Raise a reiatsu cage to conceal yourself. You need to leave him to me. Whatever happens, whoever comes through that door, you have to let _me_ handle it. If you blow it and give us away, then the princess, here, is going to die! Now move!"

Renji took the gigais, moved into a corner of the room and raised the reiatsu cage. As he disappeared into it, Yuu leaned over Byakuya and laid a cool cloth across his forehead.

"R-renji?" the noble moaned incoherently.

"He's in a reiatsu cage. He's safe," Yuu assured him, "You, on the other hand, are in some trouble…but luckily for you, not only can I cure your threshold sickness, I can also hide you from the ones who are looking for you. So…it's the secret mobile corps?"

"And Aizen Sousuke's associates," Byakuya added.

"Okay," said Yuu, smiling, "Is there anyone who's _not_ looking for you two?"

"N-not really, no," whispered Byakuya.

"Now, Princess," Yuu began.

"P-please, stop c-calling me that!" hissed the noble.

"Aww…all right. Byakuya, then. I'm going to have to seal away your spirit energy, but I have to do it center by center, using a negative pulse on each one. It is usually done under anesthesia, but in case we have to make a run for it, I want you lucid."

He opened the noble's yukata and laughed softly at the deadly look he got in response.

"Easy, Byakuya, I'm not going to tease you. I know it pisses you off. Just have to be able to access the spirit centers."

"I'm rather glad I won't be unconscious," Byakuya muttered, "I don't know that I trust you."

"Well, you don't have a choice, but if it makes you feel better, your Renji is staring straight at us out of the cage and I doubt anyone who touched you would live very long, if you know what I mean."

"That is encouraging."

"Sweet, aren't you…Now, relax. I need you relaxed so that I can get these centers under control. If they flare, it's going to hurt…and they could be destroyed. So the more you relax, the better off you'll be."

Yuu brought a hand to the noble's chest and focused deeply. Byakuya's eyes closed and he breathed slowly. He winced as the first center shut down.

"So far, so good," said the bar owner, "One down and about six to go."

The bar owner's hands slid lightly over Byakuya's chest, stopping as he sensed the next center. He focused deeply and Byakuya flinched again as the second center shut down. Yuu moved his hands down, locating and shutting down two more centers. He smiled down at Byakuya.

"Only three more."

He frowned as he located the next center.

"This one is pulsing," he warned the noble, "It could flare. If it does, just do your best not to move…and trust me. I will get it closed."

He focused on the center and sent a pulse through it. Byakuya's body convulsed sharply and an agonized cry broke from his lips.

"Damn!" swore the bar owner, "Hang on…that one's setting off the other two…"

Byakuya's body shook softly and began to glow with white light.

"Don't you do that," Yuu said warningly, "Come on, work with me."

He brushed the sweat away from the noble's damp forehead and focused again. The glow around Byakuya flared and the noble shook harder.

"All right," said Yuu, exasperated, "You want to be troublesome…I'm going to have to shut down the last three together. I'm going to have to knock you out for this. No way I'm doing this with you conscious…"

He sent a shock of reiatsu into the noble's head and Byakuya fell still except for the rise and fall of his pale breast. Yuu placed his hands over all three spirit centers and sent a huge pulse through all of them at once. Power exploded around the two men and Yuu's eyes flared a heated red-brown. He held his hands down against the noble's body and sent a final pulse through. Byakuya's body flared white, then slowly the glow faded and he was left sleeping comfortably.

"Damn!" hissed Yuu, frowning, "It's been a while since I did that. Sorry if I made it worse than it had to be."

He started to say more, but froze as he sensed strong reiatsu approaching.

"Aww, hell…we attracted some company. I was afraid that would happen. Your Renji is safe enough, but you can't be put in a reiatsu cage right now. We have about a minute to think of something else."

He climbed off the bed and rummaged through the drawers, then flash stepped away, only to return a moment later, carrying a blonde wig and a ladies yukata.

"You're gonna hate me for this, but the guys coming after you are powerful. I'm gonna use my reiatsu to hide yours, but I'm going to have to get a little close…"

He looked in Renji's direction.

"Don't get pissed," he said to the redhead, "I'm going to hide him."

He lifted Byakuya's unresponsive body and wrapped the bright pink yukata around him, then quickly shoved the wig into place. He turned the noble's face away, so just blonde hair and a small bit of his pale throat was visible, then caught his breath softly as the enemy reiatsu closed in and he heard feet pounding on the stairs. He tore off his shirt and threw it on the floor, then climbed on top of the unconscious noble, pulling the blankets up so the ones who were coming would not see that he still wore his pants. He braced himself as the door flew open and turned his head to glare at the tall, silver-haired man who burst into the room.

"What the fuck are you _doing!_" he yelled, "Can't you see I'm busy!"

The shinigami froze, staring and reaching out with his senses.

"I sensed the one I asked you about the other day," said Gin, suspiciously, "Where is he?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about," snapped Yuu, "Does this look like the guy you're looking for?"

"Search the room," Gin said to two hollows that had entered the room behind him, "Be thorough."

The hollows strode around the room, throwing things out of the closets and dresser and growling discontentedly.

"They were here," rasped one of the searching hollows," but I do not sense them anymore."

"See?" said Yuu sarcastically, "Now get the fuck out!"

Gin frowned more deeply and stepped forward. Yuu softly began an incantation under his breath.

"I will be watching this place carefully," Gin said, "I may not have found them this time, but I think they may come back. If they do…and you hide them from me…then the next time I come in here, I will kill you. Don't help them. Lock them up and when I come back…give them to me. Understand?"

"Yeah…" sighed Yuu, shaking his head, "Whatever…"

Gin smiled.

"Sorry to disturb you and your pretty lover…my apologies."

He turned and followed the hollows out the door. Yuu waited until he sensed their reiatsu fading, then climbed off of Byakuya, flushing as he realized that the noble was conscious.

"Sorry, Byakuya," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his shirt back on, "Couldn't think of what else to do."

"Well…" said Byakuya, his voice low and controlled, "My spirit centers are sealed…and we were not discovered. I am thankful for that."

Byakuya shrugged off the pink yukata and replaced it with the brown one he had been wearing. He pulled off the blonde wig and dropped it in the drawer next to the bed.

"You should be fine," Yuu said quietly, "But you cannot use any spirit energy for several days."

"But I have to…"

"Sorry…you fried your spirit centers. Whatever it is will have to wait. But look on the bright side. The bad guys can't sense you as long as your power is sealed away…so you don't have to wear the gigai except when you work for me downstairs."

Yuu stood and started towards the door.

"I'll see you two later. I have to go and take care of something."

"What?" Byakuya asked, frowning.

"You don't want to know, Princess. Just suffice it to say that although you were unconscious…I wasn't!"


	11. Locked Away

**Chapter 11: Locked Away**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**In this place outside the worlds we know, we can finally see each other. We see, we touch, we taste and feel with abandon. We hold nothing away from each other now. Slowly and lovingly, we let everything else fall away and we sink into each other…one now, and never to be parted.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_How did we come to this? Byakuya set out to free me from the prisons of Las Noches, then from the hollow that they made from my pain. So why now, I wonder, do we sit in a reiatsu cage, like two mice gone into a hole to wait for the cats to leave? I can see from where I sit that he's uncomfortable. His spirit centers weren't fully recovered, but we had no choice. Both Aizen and the Secret Mobile Corps have searched the town several times. They seem to know we're either here or in Karakura Town. But Yuu and Urahara say that it's too dangerous for us even to leave. So we wait for word to be sent when all is ready._

_His reiatsu is quiet and he is watchful, like it got once when he sat for several sleepless nights next to Rukia when she was injured. Anxiety makes most people more active, more reactive, but with Byakuya, he only gets more quiet, more reserved and more deadly. Instead of losing his focus, he becomes more focused. And his reflexes become sharp and ready. When the time comes for us to move, he will be prepared…unless…_

_I worry because I sense a haggardness about him, an all over weariness that hints at a deeper loss of hope…the beginnings of some kind of despair. And I think it has to do with me. All of this time, I have been submerged beneath this other presence, but as the reiatsu stabilized, I started to surface. But then the stabilization had to be stopped. Urahara says it is close enough now that it can be completed as soon as his equipment is ready. But as we sit here waiting, he needs something…something to bolster him. I know what it is, so I focus carefully on the hollow, trying to express it. I feel the creature's reluctance, the mistrust. It knows we want to be together and it feels threatened by that. But in a gesture of consolation, it moves closer to Byakuya and wraps my arms around him. Byakuya usually grows tense because he doesn't want to send the wrong signals to the hollow, but this time, when he feels my arms around him, he sinks into them readily._

"_Bya," it says to him, "Renji is well."_

"_Arigato," he whispers._

He closes his eyes, and suddenly, inexplicably, a tear finds its way out of one eye and onto his face. The hollow freezes and I feel its confusion. It turns Byakuya and gently brushes the hair away from his face, then one finger rises to touch and capture the tear. It stares at the captured tear, then looks at Byakuya questioningly.

"_I hurt Bya?" it asks._

_Byakuya looks back with a weary expression._

"_I need Renji," he explains, "I hurt inside because I miss him. It makes me feel a kind of loneliness."_

_The hollow shivers inside me._

"_I hurt Bya by taking Renji away?" it asks._

_Byakuya gazes at me, unsure what to say._

"_All creatures want to live," he says, touching my face, "In that way, you are no different. And when we return to Urahara, you will know a life of your own. But while we wait, I need to feel him near me. While we wait, I need tell him that I love him…and to have him hear me. You will have your place among us soon. Everything is nearly ready. Please let Renji come to me. It may be the only chance we have to be alone together before…"_

_He can't say anymore, but I know what he's telling the hollow. He expects that no matter what happens to the hollow or to me, his life will never be the same. If Central 46 doesn't have him executed or imprisoned, then the military will likely kill him for stepping so very far out of bounds. He knew it would be this way. But somewhere in the days…the months, the years he spent without me…somewhere in all of that time, he found that he didn't want to be saved that way. And so, whatever is asked of him, he'll give it quietly…and without fear or regret. The hollow doesn't know these things, of course. But it knows what it sees in his eyes…and it feels the pain in his heart. _

_I feel the hollow hesitate and consider, then it's like a weight is taken off of me. The heaviness of that other being recedes, and I feel it drawn down inside until it is sealed away. And somehow it imparts to me its choice to remain sealed until it is removed from my body. It's been so long since I controlled my own body that I collapse against Byakuya. He captures me against his shoulder, takes hold of my face and looks deeply into my eyes. And ever so slowly, his lips curve into a smile._

"_I made myself a promise," he says, bringing his face close to mine, "that the very next time I saw you…really saw you, that I would tell you what I should have long ago. And it seems the time has come for that, so I will say the words and let fate carry me where it will. Aishiteru yo, Abarai Renji. My heart belongs to you now and knows no other. And come what may, I will not leave you. My life is yours…made so by your loyalty and love. I yield everything and ask for nothing."_

_He closes the distance and I feel a shock run from head to toe as his lips find mine and press warmly against them. He kisses me only that once, then pulls back, sighing, as though in relief._

_And I understand…_

_Carrying that love as he has all of these years has been a weight. Not that he would have given it up if he could. He treasured what he felt for me…always. Deeply hidden in a thousand gently imparted words and hidden touches. It was there in soft verbal exchanges, in the grateful acceptance of hot green tea while working late at night, in small seemingly insignificant gestures, in the meeting of our eyes. I never saw it back then, though I struggled to do so…but being broken as I have been, I see it clearly now. And he no longer hides it, but offers it to me and places himself completely in my hands. It's my move now. He waits and watches me carefully, those dark, smoky eyes open and yielding._

_For a long, breathless moment, I rest against him, gaining strength and gathering my nerve. I never imagined, not in a million years that I would hold Kuchiki Byakuya in my arms and make him my own. But his eyes tell me that he waits for this and as my head turns and my mouth seeks his, he chooses no longer to hide, but to meet my lips firmly. His eyes close and his head tilts slightly as we kiss once, twice and a third time. The kisses are slow and gentle, but they send shivers through us both._

_His eyes open again as my arms wrap around him, as I lower him onto his back and lean over him. I know why he keeps his eyes open and locked on mine as our lips meet again, more urgently. He has seen the hollow emerge too many times. And it is me who he wants to be with…only me. I touch his face and smile. It feels like forever since I smiled. And seeing me smile brings a smile to his lips too. I kiss those smiling lips, then run my tongue over them, coaxing them apart. When they do, I push my tongue into his mouth, curl it warmly around his, caressing it lightly, then move on to taste and touch him everywhere inside that beautifully warm and sweet place._

_My fingers trace the sculpted lines of face and throat and my mouth leaves his to follow. I let one hand slide down the 'v' of his yukata, to catch the tie at his waist and to pull it free. The same hand peels back the edges and lays his body bare. I can't help but stare for a time. Every rise and fall, every slender curve, every inch of him is lovely, pristine and pale. The light, sweet scent of sakura rises up from his skin and when I taste it, he tastes every bit as sweet. I descend on that sweetness with a torrent of kisses and hungry strokes of my tongue. He moans my name and the sound sends a jolt through my loins. Ignoring my own body's desire to be touched, I touch him instead, attacking the strong, white torso with mouth and fingers, while sliding the other hand down his body and over the hardening swell of his arousal, further down beneath and even further, to gently tease his wonderfully tight entrance._

"_R-renji," he says, his eyes clearing for a moment and his expression registering uncertainty._

_I begin to prepare him and watch the intense reaction. He catches his breath sharply and a hungry moan escapes him. He tries to speak again, but what I am doing to him leaves him breathless. He tries again to speak, but is stopped once more as I continue to ready him._

"_Renji…"_

_I hook my fingers and his back arches, a sound of his intense pleasure striking my body and making me ache to be inside him. I watch him writhe fitfully as I hook my fingers again, and pearly fluid leaks from the end of his swollen member. I lick his fine flesh clean with gentle sweeps of my tongue, then sink down, sucking deeply, continuing to probe and stretch him. There is pain in his features, but tempered with pleasure that is slowly approaching ecstasy. _

_In all of the time I have known this man, I have never seen him like this…smoky eyes riled and half-closed, graceful hands clinging to my shoulders, his head thrown back and black, silken hair tumbled. His body shakes under my hands and his chest heaves with exertion. It's easily the most beautiful I've ever seen him, but I know he's about to become more beautiful yet._

_His eyes find mine, and he smiles at me. He's trying to tell me something, so I rest my face against a slim hip, slow the motion of my fingers and let him catch his breath._

"_I've never been with a man before."_

"_And you'll never be with anyone but me again…" I whisper back._

_He inhales sharply, then smiles and nods, his fingers reaching down to touch my lips. I suck his fingers into my mouth and lathe my tongue over them, nipping gently and silently promising him everything with my eyes. His eyes glaze over and he drops back as my fingers thrust in deeply, finding that beautifully sensitive spot that makes him quiver and moan restlessly as I push into it again. His breathing becomes ragged and his body tenses. I hold him suspended on the edges of bliss and move into position, pushing his thighs wide and looking down at the fascinating sight of Kuchiki Byakuya, noble and captain, controls released, pride lowered, honest passion flooding his face. I thought he was beautiful before, but I knew nothing of what true beauty was. He shows it to me, body, mind and heart, bright and achingly lovely. I feel tears in my eyes as I move forward, pushing into that precious yielded flesh and claiming what was rightfully mine for many years before I even knew._

_I gasp at the wonderful feeling of tightness and heat. I lay my body on top of his and return to his mouth, plunging inside and sharing our blended tastes. I try to hold still, to let him adjust, but his body arches upward and his eyes tell me that gentleness would be lost on him now. So I lose all semblance of it and let him feel the strength that has returned to my body. I thrust in hard now, holding back nothing and giving him back the powerful, red-haired fukutaichou he thought lost for all of that time, the one he cried silent tears for and dreamed of in the few hours he could sleep, the one who held his mind captive as he stood on those sand dunes at night and stared at Las Noches. There is some pain, but his eyes express love and gratitude and desire, and such relief!_

_I feed him hard, biting kisses and he can't get enough of them. His fingers sink into my hair and he holds my head in place, invading my mouth now and pressing upward to receive each heavy, relentless thrust. I lift myself slightly to thrust in deeper and reach down to stroke him, my eyes locked on his as the rush of sensation lifts him and carries him off and into oblivion._

_Hot seed erupts between us as he releases with a lusty, seething moan. I thrust into that spot again and his moan becomes a beautiful cry of pleasure. I realize suddenly that I've rarely ever heard him raise his voice. That cry echoes in my mind and all I want is to hear it again. I thrust in hard and the cry rises into a senseless scream of pleasure. I fasten my mouth on his and devour it, then force out another. He has no idea what's happening anymore. His eyes have gone black and incoherent, and his body shudders and looks ready to collapse. I bury myself inside him one more time and then the pleasure explodes out of me. His hazed eyes blink as the heat pulses into him, leaving him full and sated and barely moving anymore._

_I rest my body there on top of his, not wanting to separate myself from him. I shift slightly so I can stay inside him as exhaustion sweeps over us and bears us off to sleep. When I wake again, I've rolled onto my back and he is resting with his head on my shoulder, a pale hand stretched out on my chest. My arms are wound around him and refusing to let go. I manage to loose one and let my fingers sink into his hair. I always wanted to do that…so many times on those long nights when we worked late together._

_He stirs softly and his eyes open and seek mine. I see the moment of uncertainty and wonder how long it will be before we are whole again, if we ever will be…or if this once is all we have and it will disappear once the call comes in for us to make our move. _

_It's strange…_

_Before, I felt suffocated being enclosed in the reiatsu cage. I spent too much time caged in Las Noches, being beaten and tormented by the hollows. I thought afterwards that I might never want to be touched again. But there is one person in the three worlds whose touch I will never shy away from, whose touch brings me healing and peace. And all at once, I want him to touch me, not just on the surface, but deep down where the hurt was most painful. I meet Byakuya's eyes and try to find the words, but what I find is that I don't need them. He stares at me uncertainly as I smile and part my thighs._

"_Renji…are you…sure?" he asks softly, "I don't know if…"_

_I shut him up by rolling him onto his back and attacking his mouth with kisses, wrapping my hand around him and bring his hardness back, until the words melt away and his body is again at my command. This time I settle on top of him, straddling. I bring myself down slowly, forcing away the flash of memory it brings. Those memories are about to be obliterated. His hand finds my throbbing length and caresses me as I rise and fall, already losing my breath and knowing it won't take long. He stares up at me, watching closely as I straighten and look back, smiling._

"_Aishiteru yo, Taichou…"_

_He reaches up and strokes my lips with delicate fingertips._

"_Byakuya," he says, correcting me._

"_Byakuya," I whisper, thrusting harder, faster…deeper until we can't talk anymore._

_Our bodies strain against each other, once more, seeking to taste the delicious flames of pleasure. I am surprised it doesn't take longer, but in reality, our love has waited many years to be sated and it will be an eternity of nights before it ever approaches being 'enough.' I loose a howl of pleasure and feel his body seize with climax. His release pulses into me, hot and healing, burning away everything that was there before, every harsh touch, cruel word and painful invasion. The tears on my face aren't tears of pain, but relief at finally being freed from it. I breathe deeply and fall onto his chest, moaning his name and surrendering for a moment to tears of gratitude. I never thought to feel something so beautiful again._

_I look up, expecting he might be worried by my reaction, but his eyes tell me that he understands and his hands soothe me into a state of rest. _

_We are nearly asleep again when the door outside the reiatsu cage bursts open and Yuu rushes inside. At first, I think it must be that Urahara is ready. His words confirm this, but there is more._

"_Open the cage!" he yells frantically, "Soutaichou is with the stealth force. He'll find you and break it anyway! Open the cage! Run!"_


	12. Without Malice

**Chapter 12: Without Malice**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**Our eyes met for one frozen moment, and the world melted away. I would die to feel your arms around me one more time, to break these chains and reach for you…to be spared death only to look upon you once more…but I will take death's hand without malice, knowing that embracing this darkness means that you will once again, live and breathe…**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Yuu withdrew two cloaks that looked like the one he wore and silently pointed them back into the hallway. They could hear the flash steps sounding, the breaking of glass, raised voices, shouts and screams…then footsteps following as they disappeared through a wall that turned out to be no more than an illusion. They flash stepped down into the brush alongside the building and moved on silent feet towards a wooded area and the clearing beyond.

"We only need to get to the clearing and open the gate," whispered Yuu, "Kisuke is waiting in the field. Come."

Byakuya slipped a hand into Renji's, meeting his eyes once in promise.

_We'll be all right_, he seemed to say as the two ran side-by-side through the scattered trees.

Shouts rose up behind them as their hidden exit was discovered and a cascade of flash steps moved in pursuit. Byakuya felt his spirit centers burn beneath his skin and could see he was slowing them. He let go of Renji's hand to loose a kido attack and fell somewhat behind. Yuu reached Kisuke and turned as Renji slid to a stop and turned back, scanning the trees behind them.

"Byakuya…" he hissed, drawing Zabimaru.

It occurred to Renji suddenly that he hadn't connected with Zabimaru since the day of his capture…since the day he raised his weapon in defense of his taichou and was willing to die to protect him. As he raised his reiatsu and reached for the spirit inside, he felt something rise up between them.

"Wh-what?" he whispered, "Zabimaru…"

The weapon felt cold in his hand, though he could feel the spirit within struggling.

"What's…wrong? Why can't I…?"

He froze for a moment as Byakuya broke out of the trees and into the meadow behind them.

"Kisuke!" Byakuya cried, Take him and go! I'll destroy the gate…"

"No!" yelled Renji, "Byakuya, don't!"

"Come on," Kisuke said firmly, "Byakuya's right. They'll be too close behind. We won't escape this place if someone doesn't shatter the gate. You know we can't do it once we're inside…now move!"

"But…they'll kill him!"

Strong arms grabbed him from behind and forced down the hand that held Zabimaru.

"Byakuya!" screamed Renji, fighting harder as Kisuke and Yuu forced him into the senkaimon.

Byakuya had reached the plain now and Senbonzakura appeared in his hand. He raised it in front of him, point down and let it go. As the rows of silver blades rose around him, he looked back over his shoulder at Renji. And it was as though suddenly, the words he would have said reached Renji, even across that distance.

_Let me do this one last thing for you. I stood and watched you sacrifice yourself to save me…and the guilt almost destroyed me. If I could go back, I would have traded places with you and never let them touch you. As your taichou and your lover, it is my place to protect you. Let me do that. Let me protect you this time…Renji…_

Tears flooded Renji's eyes and poured onto his face as flash steps sounded all around the trapped noble and the secret mobile corps began to close in. Pink petals rose up in a deadly spinning sphere, wrapping around the space that held the senkaimon and locking in on it. Renji screamed in fury one more time as the gate closed behind them. Then, he was dragged to his feet and shoved along the passage, given no choice but to move.

"If you want to save him," Kisuke panted as they ran, "then let me get that reiatsu out of you! You won't be able to connect with Zabimaru until you do. You need to be at full power. Relax, Renji. They won't kill him…not without a trial. And we will be back to stop them before that! Hurry now! Let's get this done!"

Renji felt a surge of determination and he stopped fighting the other two men. Holding Byakuya in mind and heart, he raced down the passageway.

Behind them, Byakuya stood ready in front of the gate. A stronger reiatsu flared and the stealth force parted to let Yamamoto soutaichou step forward. He faced Byakuya, his expression stern and unyielding, unsealing his weapon and holding it ready.

"Stop!" he commanded, "Do not destroy the gate. If you help him to escape us, there will be no leniency this time. Your elders know of your relationship with your fukutaichou now. They have washed their hands of you. Listen…if you do not believe."

Byakuya watched in silence as Head Elder Nori stepped forward, his stern, lined face frowning as he locked eyes with the noble.

"Kuchiki Byakuya…look at yourself. Look at what you have become. Once our proud leader and one who followed our laws even when it was difficult…once again, you have lowered yourself. And to do what? As it was with Hisana…and with Rukia after her…once again, you have allowed affections of your heart to make you stray from what is right…and our council can take no more of this disobedience…this persistent rebelliousness! Turn away from this now…while all you will lose is the leadership of our clan. If you lay down your weapon and allow the stealth force to take Abarai fukutaichou into custody, along with the miscreants who assisted him, we will prevent you from being tried in the chambers of Central 46 and executed!"

"I do not care anymore about being executed. If it must be so, it will, but word will go out and my sacrifice will not be in vain! I watched that man you would have me betray throw himself down in front of my enemy, blocking his path so I could be protected! While I laid, safe and warm in my bed, he shivered in the cold of a dark cell. While my servants bathed and dressed me, our enemy raped and tormented him! And louder and louder, his cries rose up in my mind…I could not stop them! Night after long night, I stood on the sands, looking to where he laid bound and feeling his pain grow and deepen. Then finally…finally, word reached me that he was truly still alive…and I was able to make a plan to bring him home. But I faced nothing but refusal…yes…the military to which he devoted himself DIDN'T WANT HIM TO BE ALIVE! So when they couldn't stop me from bringing him home…this comrade, who sacrificed himself for me…they wanted to kill him quietly…to 'end his suffering.' And why? Because to save him would encourage Aizen Sousuke to take more of us? You are FOOLS! I have _been_ to Las Noches and Aizen Sousuke has told me his plans! And _yes_! Yes, the traitor will use anyone and everyone it takes to achieve what he wants. But we won't stop him by turning on each other and killing each other. We have to rally the ones who are left…and we have to fight for the ones who are taken. We are not like our enemy. We cannot be ruthless and heartless like him…or the reason Abarai Renji yielded himself for me will no longer exist. What makes us different from the heartless, masked hollows will completely disappear! And we will have handed Aizen Sousuke everything he wanted…without a fight! We will have lost more than the war…we will have lost our humanity…the one thing that made us a race worth saving. Yamamoto soutaichou…Nori…Let Urahara Kisuke heal Renji. He _can_ make Renji whole again! And my heart can rest peacefully again. Whatever price I must pay…I will know that he has his freedom and that I was successful in both defending him…and robbing our enemy of yet another foul scheme."

The field went deeply silent for a moment and Nori and Yamamoto observed Byakuya quietly. Pink petals swirled in the air around the noble, obscuring the view of the gate he defended. Byakuya could feel the tension in the soldiers who stood ready around him. When the order was given, they would be swift, too swift for him to escape. And the longer Yamamoto waited, the more the likelihood that someone would move suddenly…would set off the others. It was a dangerous situation, and he realized that the most important thing was to destroy the gate. He had to be sure they couldn't follow. Everything rested on that. He breathed softly now, feeling that the approach of death was near. His hand sure around the hilt of Senbonzakura, Byakuya began to raise his power.

"Bravo…" said Soutaichou, his voice sounding oddly distorted.

Byakuya caught his breath sharply as the captain commander whispered to his zanpakutou and the scene around Byakuya changed. All it once, he found himself facing, not Soutaichou and Nori, but Aizen and Gin…and the space around him was filled with, not secret mobile corps, but with a sea of powerful hollows.

"Why Byakuya…that was such a touching display of affection. But then, who knows better than I how much you love Abarai Renji. Please…you left us so quickly, I didn't have time to say goodbye."

"You must know," Byakuya said in a low voice, "I will never let you near enough to touch me…"

_He has already clouded my senses. I can't be sure of anything. I need to be touching him…_

"Truly…a valiant intent. But how will you know when I am near you. Right now, you perceive everything as I direct it. You don't know where I am, Kuchiki Byakuya."

"Nor does it matter…" Byakuya replied softly, "Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"

Lines of glowing pink swords rose in the air around them. Gin flash stepped away and the hollows were locked outside. Aizen and Byakuya stood alone, facing each other in the sealed fighting enclosure.

"How intelligent of you," Aizen said appreciatively, "Within your senkei, the gate is protected…and my ability to control your perceptions ceases to matter. I know that, despite your lack of defenses, your sword is deadly and precise here. Certainly, you will do damage when you attack me. But why do you wait? Why not attack me now? Wouldn't it be more intelligent to move before I think of a way to counter?"

"You already know me, and this attack well enough to have prepared to counter."

Aizen gazed at him curiously.

"Then what is your plan, Kuchiki Byakuya?"

Byakuya smiled.

"To cut you…to wound you…to make you pay for what you did to him! For that, I would give my life!"

Byakuya's reiatsu rose until the glowing pink swords shivered with anticipation. Aizen smiled and nodded.

"Raise your sword to me, then," he said, nodding, "Make your attack sure, so that you do not embarrass yourself. But that sword in your hand will not cut me…"

"Why, Aizen Sousuke," Byakuya said softly, "whoever said that I would cut you with the sword in my hand?"

Aizen gasped in surprise as the enclosure groaned and an explosion ripped through it.

"Very well!" he cried as the noble's swords found his flesh and fire licked at his skin, "But as you cut me, know that it will be the last thing that you do."

Blood exploded from Aizen's body and he fell to his knees as Byakuya raised his power one last time.

"You are going to detonate all of the rest together, ne?" panted Aizen, "Don't make me laugh! You won't do it…especially because I have used my weapon to bind my fate to yours. Your sword no longer protects you from its own attacks. Detonate them then! But you will only die with me!"

Byakuya knelt next to the leader of the hollows and gripped the bloodied front of his shihakushou, staring into the still insanely calm brown eyes. Aizen's eyes widened at what he saw in the noble's eyes, and his sword rose and thrust into Byakuya.

"You see it now, don't you," Byakuya whispered, blood leaking from his mouth, "I don't care what happens to me…but you will not get away with what you did to Renji!"

Before he could move…or answer…or even breathe, the remainder of the swords exploded, searing their bodies with pink fire and slashing them viciously from all sides with a hailstorm of bladed petals. Aizen screamed in pain and flash stepped wildly, breaking free and staggering to Gin, who wrapped an arm around him and quickly opened a garganta.

"Shall we remain and finish him off when the fire goes out?" one of the hollows asked the silver-haired shinigami.

Gin shook his head.

"Don't you feel it? They are coming. Get out of here. He's already dead anyway," he said, glancing back at the pink firestorm.

As the hollows began to disappear, Gin held a now unconscious Aizen against him and watched the fire die away. Byakuya knelt alone in front of the ruined gate. He met Gin's eyes for a moment, then sank to the ground.

"I would finish him for you, Sousuke, but it doesn't look as though he needs a finishing blow. His reiatsu is fading," he said, chuckling to himself, "You're a mess, Sousuke. I don't think I've seen any of them score a hit like that before! Too bad your spirit centers had been weakened, ne Byakuya? You might have stood a chance of killing him…"

He gazed down at the curled, blood soaked form for a moment longer, then disappeared into the garganta.

XXXXXXXXXX

A flash step sounded and a lone shinigami appeared in the meadow next to Byakuya. He dropped down alongside the noble, searching for signs of life. His stomach clenched at the horrid injuries, at the amount of his blood that had drained into the wet grass he laid on.

"Oh my kami…" the youth whispered.

He removed a soul communicator and punched in a number.

"Urahara…" a voice said into his ear.

"It's Ichigo," he told the shopkeeper, "I need you to send Orihime right away."

"Did you find Byakuya?"

"I found what's left of him, yeah. But hurry, Kisuke. There are no life signs. Orihime has to reach us before he just dissolves into spirit particles…"

More flash steps sounded, and Ichigo closed the soul communicator. He stood and drew his sword, facing the full contingent of the secret mobile corps search party. At the head of the group, Yamamoto soutaichou stood, frowning.

"Stand down, Kurosaki Ichigo," he said firmly.

"I don't think so," the substitute shinigami said, holding Zangetsu ready, "I'm not going to let you hurt him anymore. You've done enough. You killed him…but Orihime is going to save him and you are going to leave him alone. All he tried to do was to protect Renji. He had to find him…to plan and execute his rescue…and to care for him on his own, because you abandoned him…just like you abandoned Renji! How long are you going to go on like this? Letting Aizen turn you against your own like this? Kuchiki Byakuya would die to defend you and you return that dedication by killing him!"

"Enough!" Soutaichou yelled, "We were not the ones who took his life. Aizen Sousuke used his illusions to mislead us and cornered Kuchiki taichou in the meadow. I have heard that he seriously injured Aizen…and that, I feel, is worthy of his sacrifice. We will not prevent Inoue Orihime from saving him, if she is able. But when he is healed, Byakuya will be returning to the Seireitei for trial. As commendable as you feel his actions were, he did break several of our laws…and he would agree, himself, that he must stand trial. But we will not simply kill him. And, Kurosaki Ichigo, I assure you…if the sentence he eventually receives is death, I will mourn him with you. I understand his actions…but as the leader of the Gotei 13, I cannot condone them."

"But you say you'll at least give him a fair trial?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," said Soutaichou, nodding, "Now…if you will allow Unohana taichou to approach him, she will set Byakuya in suspended animation until Orihime arrives. We will evacuate them to the Seireitei and she can continue his healing in our hospital there. You may accompany us back, if you wish."

"Unohana taichou may approach," Ichigo said, lowering his sword, "but just her, for now."

Ichigo watched carefully as the healer stepped out from behind the captain commander and knelt next to Byakuya. She set a healing field around the noble's body and raised her power over him. Green light flooded the darkened field and sank slowly into the noble's body. Unohana looked up at Ichigo and nodded.

"He is in suspended animation, so his body will not dissipate."

"What do you think are the chances that Orihime can save him?" Ichigo asked.

The healer gazed sadly down at Byakuya.

"I do not know. Her reject power is very strong…but his injuries…they are devastating…"

She shook her head, frowning.

"We shall have to wait and see if Orihime's reject power can overcome them…"

Ichigo's eyes darkened and he felt tears threatening. He dropped down next to the motionless noble and slipped a warm hand into his, shivering at how cold it felt.

"Don't worry," he said softly, "Urahara is working on Renji right now. Renji is safe. No one's going to hurt him anymore. You have to fight for your own life now. Byakuya…think about it. Renji doesn't want to lose you any more than you wanted to lose him. He needs you…so hang in there. Orihime will be here soon."

He continued to sit quietly with Byakuya's hand in his as Unohana taichou looked on. He was still kneeling at the noble's side when Orihime's voice rang out across the meadow.

"Ichigo!"

"Over here!" he cried.

Orihime ran to him and fell to her knees beside Byakuya. Smiling hopefully, Unohana taichou released the noble from suspended animation and watched as Orihime's golden healing field rose up over his body. Orihime lowered her head and focused deeply.

_Don't die, Byakuya…not after all you did to bring Renji back. Fight. You have to fight._

Ichigo caught his breath in surprise as the hand held in his stirred softly.


	13. The Little Things

**Chapter 13: The Little Things**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**I am a reflection of one living, one who exists on the edges of your mind. Born of your pain and made alive by your sacrifice, I fall into life breathless at first seeing the world in full, living color…**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"All right," said Kisuke, leaning over Renji and laying a palm on his bared abdomen, "We are ready."

The redhead turned his head to look at the body Kisuke had created and shivered softly in anticipation.

"You're going to feel some tingling and the rising reiatsu will cause some heat and pressure. You let me know if it becomes too uncomfortable for you and I will knock you out."

"Are you kidding me?" Renji asked, chuckling, "I'm not missing this. Not for all of the world."

He sighed softly.

"I wish Byakuya was here, though," he said nervously, "Kisuke, has there been any word from Ichigo? Did he find Byakuya? I know I felt something earlier…it felt like fire was burning me…"

Kisuke met his eyes squarely.

"I haven't heard from Ichigo," he lied, "but I'm sure Byakuya will be all right. Now, focus on this. He's helping to keep pursuit off our backs long enough for you to have this baby. You need to focus on that and not worry about anything else, okay?"

Renji looked as though he wanted to argue the point, but nodded in acquiescence. Kisuke gave him an encouraging smile and returned his focus to the redhead's slightly swollen abdomen. He placed a reiatsu monitor on one side, then moved his hands to rest over the location of the reiatsu chamber that held the rendered cluster that had once been the hollow inside Renji.

"Keep your breathing slow and try to relax as much as you can. I want your reiatsu to remain under control, whatever happens."

The shopkeeper lowered his eyes and bent his head, gazing down at Renji's tattooed abdomen and sending his reiatsu into the redhead's body…curling it slowly around the chamber inside, then gradually raising the pressure around it. Renji managed to keep his breathing even, but a sweat broke out on his forehead as the spiritual pressure rose and seemed to close in around him.

"You all right?" Kisuke asked.

"Y-yeah…" said Renji, his voice shaking slightly, "I just feel a little sick is all."

"Sorry about that," Kisuke said, shaking his head, "If it gets too bad, I can stop and let you rest a bit."

"N-no," Renji said, beginning to pant softly, "I'll be…fine."

"Control that breathing," Kisuke said, checking the reiatsu sensor. Your kid's reiatsu is pretty strong and we don't want to have both of you smothering us all with it."

Renji nodded and forced himself to take slower breaths, and tried to relax his tensed muscles, but as Kisuke intensified the reiatsu that swirled around the cluster in his abdomen, the redhead made a noise of discomfort and caught his breath sharply.

"You got a name picked out for him?" the shopkeeper asked, trying to distract him from the pain.

"N-no," Renji said softly, "We…haven't been able to think about…much beyond dodging…Aizen…and the secret mobile corps. We've…just b-been…taking it one day at a time."

"Huh…" mused Kisuke, "Just don't let those Kuchiki elders have anything to say about that. They'd probably put pressure on you to give him one of those odd family names…"

"Oh…hell, no!" Renji chuckled, "I don't think Taichou would let them do that!"

"I don't know," Kisuke laughed softly, "He's not exactly on the best terms with them, right now. They weren't thrilled when he took leave of his senses and went after you. But don't worry…you and Byakuya give them an heir to fuss over and they will quit fussing about the 'commoner' crap. They'll just be glad he finally reproduced. They were damned worried he wouldn't."

The shopkeeper frowned as the redhead's expression grew more serious again.

"What is it?" Kisuke asked, "What's making you look so down?"

Renji sighed.

"I'm just…worried about him, Kisuke. We left him alone…and surrounded by them."

"Don't worry so much," Kisuke insisted, "Soutaichou won't let them kill him right there. He'll take Byakuya back to the Seireitei and he'll get a fair trial, Renji. And that will give us time to get to him. Just keep thinking about that baby. That's your job. You let Byakuya worry about keeping himself alive. He isn't alone. Ichigo is going to help him."

"Yeah, I know," the redhead said as Kisuke washed the sweat from his face, "My conscience is just killing me because we left him behind like that."

"Well…we'll be back with him soon," the shopkeeper assured him, "Now…I've got my reiatsu wrapped securely around the cluster inside you. I'm going to remove it. As I do, the limiter I have on it should hold the baby's reiatsu in balance. You have to control yours and I'll control mine. The three have to maintain that balance as I move the cluster out of your body and place it in the baby's."

"What happens if it comes unbalanced?" Renji asked worriedly.

"You don't want to know," chuckled Kisuke, "Just keep yourself contained."

The shopkeeper returned his eyes to where his hands rested on Renji's abdomen.

"Take a breath," he said quietly.

Renji breathed in, his eyes widening as golden light flared around Kisuke's extended hands and with maddening slowness, the reiatsu cluster began to emerge from his body. He inhaled sharply at a sudden shock of pain and his own reiatsu pulsed.

"Easy, Renji," Kisuke warned him.

The redhead nodded and forced himself to relax. He continued to stare as the golden light cluster made its way out of him, his chest heaving softly from the intense pressure of the emerging reiatsu.

"Damn…" he muttered softly, "Now I know why Taichou had such a hard time stabilizing it."

"That's right," Kisuke agreed, "Even with Byakuya's reiatsu at full strength, it was hard to control…and at the time, I wasn't sure that even someone with his level of power could manage it. I thought he could…but he's lucky that burned spirit centers are all he suffered. He could have shattered them altogether."

"What?" Renji gasped, "Then why in the hell didn't you tell _him_ that! You don't think he would have liked to know what he was facing if…"

"I did tell him the possibility," Kisuke said quietly, "but I think that something else had his attention at the time."

"I wouldn't have wanted him to risk himself like that, Kisuke!" Renji yelled, "That's why I was willing to die to protect him! I love Taichou too much to let him be hurt. That's why I protected him the way I did."

"Hey…" said Kisuke, "lower your spiritual pressure. We have to keep the three stable."

Renji brought the level of his reiatsu down with an effort.

"Sorry," he sighed, his eyes darkening with emotion.

"It's okay…just…realize…Byakuya lived with a lot of guilt. It wasn't just that you sacrificed yourself on his behalf, but that you disappeared and we all thought you were killed…and Byakuya hadn't ever told you that he had feelings for you. That's a lot of weight for a person to carry, Renji. And it was enough of a weight that when he found proof that you were alive and the military and Central 46 refused to assist him, he came to me. And you know he wouldn't do that unless he had to. You weren't going to be able to stop him from trying to stabilize the hollow reiatsu. He felt he owed it to you to see that you got your life back. And whatever it cost, he was going to pay it, regardless. He was that determined. So whatever happens, now you know."

Renji took another steadying breath and forced himself to relax. Kisuke nodded in approval.

"That's better. We're almost there. Now, hold on. This is the most dangerous part. When the reiatsu pulls free of you, the cluster will be kind of unstable. I'll need you to help me keep it under control as we place it in the body."

"Can I ask you something?" Renji queried, "Why does our kid's body look so…blankish? I mean…we're sort of colorful, ourselves. You couldn't make him a little…erm…prettier…like Taichou?"

Kisuke loosed an amused laugh.

"That's not nice, calling your not-even-born kid ugly, Renji. But don't worry. He looks blank because he hasn't been filled with the cluster yet. Just watch. I think you'll enjoy this!"

The redhead's eyes widened in wonder as Kisuke's power rose and the golden light exploded around them. The cluster broke free of Renji's abdomen, leaving him reeling for a moment as he recovered from the shock. The reiatsu roared around them.

"Renji! Give me your hands!" cried Kisuke over the noise and rising wind.

Renji placed his hands alongside the shopkeeper's and added his power as the two gently lifted the golden cluster and moved it slowly towards the waiting body. They paused and met each other's eyes briefly as the cluster hovered over the body and began to descend into it. As it touched the small form, the power exploded around them again, and Renji felt burning on his skin. He lowered his head and strained to yield more power to balance it. He heard Kisuke make a soft sound of distress as the flaring reiatsu licked at them, stinging their spirit centers and burning their lungs with each breath. Just when Renji was certain that they had failed and was ready to loose a howl of frustration, the golden light disappeared into the baby's body and the room went dark.

Everything was silent for one breathless moment…

Then, Renji felt a helpless smile crawl onto his face as a sharp squeal sounded. His eyes met Kisuke's for a moment, then he looked down at the baby as Kisuke lit the room with kido. The two men watched wordlessly as the baby's blank features slowly evolved. The colorless strands of hair darkened to raven black with red highlights that appeared where the light shone on them. His eyes were a lovely chocolate brown with a pretty dark gray ring around them. His features slimmed and took on a more delicate look.

The baby's dark eyes blinked and focused on Renji, then tiny hand extended in his direction and he squealed again. Kisuke laughed.

"I think he knows who you are!"

Renji's eyes softened affectionately, and he carefully bundled the newborn, then lifted him into his arms. He couldn't take his eyes off of the enchanting little face that somehow seemed to echo notes of Byakuya's face and, at the same time, his. As Renji held the boy and gazed down at him, Kisuke studied the baby and carefully checked his reiatsu. He smiled at the two and nodded.

"He's fully stabilized…and fully shinigami now. Congratulations, Renji…you and Byakuya are parents."

Renji continued to stare down at the little boy and his eyes flared with determination.

"Now…we have to find out what happened with Byakuya…"

"Whoa," said Kisuke, "Hold on a sec. You just had a baby…and he was just born. Neither of you is leaving here right now. I will contact Ichigo and check on the state of things, then we will make a plan. Remember, if he has been taken back to the Seireitei, they have to try him before he can face any punishment…and with all of the noise he's made, they know better than to think he'll go down quietly. They're going to do this by the book, Renji. And while they do that, you are going to heal and reconnect with Zabimaru. You want to be there when he needs you, then you need to do this right."

Renji gave an annoyed sigh and held the baby boy closer. Everything in him screamed to leave for the Seireitei that very moment, but inside, he knew Kisuke was right. And he was determined that when the time came that Byakuya needed him, he would be there.

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya felt the darkness around him begin to fade and slowly, his eyes blinked open. He found himself lying in a hospital bed in what appeared to be the fourth division. His body ached fiercely and he loosed a soft groan as he tried to sit up and was gently pushed back down again. He looked up and found himself gazing into Kurosaki Ichigo's concerned eyes.

"You shouldn't try to move around, Kuchiki taichou," said a girl's voice, "I only just brought you back all of the way. Your body is still adjusting."

He turned his head slightly as he allowed himself to be lowered again, and met Orihime's eyes gratefully.

"Arigato, Inoue Orihime," he managed in a whisper, "I was convinced that protecting the gate had cost me everything. I am fortunate that the two of you were able to find me so quickly…and that the secret mobile corps allowed you to heal me."

He returned his eyes to Ichigo's.

"Kurosaki Ichigo…It seems that I am in your debt once again."

Ichigo smiled at him.

"Forget it," he chuckled, "Just try to stay out of trouble and get well so my buddy, Renji, won't have to stress himself out worrying about you. He almost busted something fighting to get back to you, you know."

Byakuya's eyes grew concerned.

"Is Renji all right?" he asked quickly.

"Last time I checked in, Kisuke was just starting. I'm sure he's fine…and now that you're awake, I can let Kisuke know you came through okay, too. I have to say, I'm impressed, though. I hear Aizen got messed up pretty bad. Too bad you had to kill yourself inflicting that damage, ne?"

"Hmmm…" the noble said, his eyes narrowing, "If I'd been at full strength, I wouldn't have died…and he would have."

Ichigo laughed.

"Now, that's the Byakuya I know."

He broke off as a shadow appeared in the doorway and an old shinigami entered the room. Byakuya looked up at the captain commander, his dark eyes fearless and calm.

"Kuchiki taichou," he said in a solemn voice, "I am glad that Inoue was able to bring you back to us. However…as much as the Gotei 13 and Central 46 appreciate your efforts against Aizen Sousuke, we cannot condone your continued recklessness and defiance of our rules and codes. For that reason, it is my duty to place you under arrest for the abduction of Abarai Renji from our custody, disobeying orders, resisting arrest in order to defy the order of death upon Abarai Renji. You will be allowed to remain in the healing center until you are judged well enough to stand trial…at which time, you will be removed to the repentance center."

Byakuya nodded in acquiescence.

"I understand, Soutaichou," he said quietly.

The aged shinigami sighed softly.

"All of that being said," he went on, "I will say again that I am glad that Inoue was able to bring you back. As much as we appreciate your efforts to injure Aizen Sousuke…it was…distressing to see the price you paid for it. And there is one more thing…I have brought you a visitor."

Byakuya lifted his eyes and brought them to rest on the man that he hadn't seen standing behind the captain commander. He inhaled sharply and his eyes widened in surprise.

"It has been a long time…Byakuya. I felt the decline of your reiatsu and was given permission to leave the spirit dimension to see you through your trial."

"Grandfather…" the noble said breathlessly, as the elder Kuchiki stepped forward and met him in a surprisingly warm embrace.


	14. Where Justice is Found

**Chapter 14: Where Justice is Found**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**_I need no words or excuses to explain my choices. I was bound to you from the beginning…and I was not going to leave you to your fate. But even as you love me…and would do anything for my protection…just this once…let me protect you…_**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya watched as the door leading into the meeting chambers of Central 46 opened and he was gestured through. He stepped forward, noting that several people who were not councilors had, nonetheless been given seats to observe the trial. Ginrei sat next to Soutaichou and Rukia sat next to them. The Kuchiki Council had also been allowed to enter…given that he was a noble, and they had objected to the charge of treason that meant he could be tried by these councilors instead of just within his own clan. The elders might have been surprised by that fact…that and the death sentence if he was convicted…but then, Central 46 had gone to extremes to hide the information about the procedures that Aizen had used on Renji…and they would go far to continue to hold that information away from the public.

He reached the place before his seat and remained standing as the councilors filed into the room and took their seats. They were given leave to sit down, then the head councilor, an aged shinigami named Sadao, stood and read the list of charges against him. As he spoke, his eyes glared down at the noble, who stood before them in a simple white yukata…and with none of the markers of his status. To them, Byakuya realized, he was just another shinigami, who had stepped out of bounds and was now likely to pay the price for it.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Sadao said in a solemn voice, "You have been charged with the abduction of Abarai Renji from military custody, of aiding him in avoiding an order of death. And in the commission of those crimes, you are also charged with treason because your actions resulted in the reveal of classified information to Aizen Sousuke and put Abarai Renji into his hands. The penalty of those charges, if you are found guilty…is death by soukyoku. Do you understand the charges against you?"

"I understand," Byakuya said softly.

Head Elder Kuchiki Nori stood and met the head councilor's eyes sternly.

"As head elder of the Kuchiki council of elders, I hereby object to the charge of treason…and to the placement of this case in this forum. The Kuchiki family is more than prepared to determine what offences our head of household may have committed and to see that his crimes, if any, do not go unpunished. We demand that this council abandon its claim to jurisdiction of the case and return it to our hands immediately."

"Kuchiki Nori," Sadao said in a calm, but firm voice, "Our council has heard your objection, but your appeal for a change of jurisdiction to the Kuchiki clan is hereby denied. It is the belief of this council that Kuchiki Byakuya abused his position of taichou and his birthright powers as a Kuchiki lord to proceed in his reckless attempts to defy the order of death given, due to the extreme and unfortunately, irreversible condition of his former fukutaichou."

"Renji is still my fukutaichou," Byakuya said calmly.

Sadao's eyes flared as he turned them towards the noble.

"You will not speak unless called upon!" he exclaimed, "You may be leader of the Kuchiki clan, but you are not above the rules of this courtroom…and you are not above our laws."

"With all due respect, councilor," Byakuya said quietly, "This trial is not about me overstepping my bounds as either taichou or clan leader, but about a shinigami doing what we are charged with doing…seeing that our laws are obeyed and due process is observed in all cases."

"Silence!" the councilor snapped, "or we will have you restrained and you will only be able to speak when we unbind you!"

He stepped out of the gallery and approached Byakuya. His eyes glared down at the seated noble as Byakuya gazed straight back at him, his face calm.

"Belligerence!" hissed Sadao, "Arrogance! You nobles think that you are above the rest of us and above our laws, ne?"

"Sir…the noble class is not at issue here."

The head councilor's reiatsu flared.

"Bind him. Allow him to speak only when we directly question him!"

Byakuya sat quietly, making no objection as four councilors surrounded him and invoked a binding kido that held him silent.

"The noble class as a group thinks it can do as it likes," Sadao went on, "but you are about to be an example of what happens to nobles who step too far over the lines of our society. When Abarai Renji disappeared, you were ordered not to pursue his rescue because it would put critical personnel, namely yourself, at undue risk. Is that not true?"

"It is true that I was wrongfully ordered to refrain from rescuing my fukutaichou."

"Wrongfully?" asked a female councilor named Eri, "Who are you to determine right from wrong as relates to military strategy?"

"I am a taichou with many years of military service. Renji is taichou level, though not a taichou, and under our current rules, he qualified for rescue. That he was denied it was an infringement of his rights. And I hope you will not suggest he should have pursued legal solutions himself. He could hardly have done so from Las Noches!"

"And did you pursue legal solutions?" asked a male councilor named Fumio.

"I did," Byakuya answered solemnly, "I approached Soutaichou and requested an official assessment of his situation be done, as per normal protocol, and my request was denied."

Sadao looked up at Soutaichou.

"Yamamoto soutaichou, is his claim true?" he asked.

The captain commander stood.

"Kuchiki taichou did approach me with a request to assess the situation."

"And what was your response to that request?"

"I told Kuchiki taichou that because of special circumstances, stricter rules applied. I denied his request, based on data provided by the second division that suggested that to attempt to pursue assessment and rescue would expose more critical personnel to possible loss through death or abduction."

"And what was Kuchiki taichou's response?"

The captain commander paused.

"Yamamoto soutaichou?"

He looked down at Byakuya, apology in his eyes.

"He asked if I would say the same if it was he who was incarcerated at Las Noches."

"And your response?"

"He is a taichou. Abarai is not. End of story. I felt that my response was appropriate, given that we did not want to make ourselves vulnerable to the enemy. If we had tried to rescue Abarai fukutaichou, it would have sent a message that abduction of others would further Aizen Sousuke's plans. It was a risk that I felt we could not take."

Byakuya bristled inside, but made himself outwardly calm as the binding on him held him silent and gave him no opportunity to argue Soutaichou's explanation.

"Very well," said Sadao, "so it is clear that even given this explanation of your position, Kuchiki Byakuya acted in violation of your order."

He paused and looked down at the next charge.

"Kuchiki Byakuya, the list of charges indicates that although forbidden to pursue this assessment and rescue, you did travel on several occasions to Hueco Mundo without authorization, reconnoitered the area around the fortress, formed an unauthorized plan, and freed Abarai fukutaichou. You are to reveal to this council all who assisted you. In exchange for this, we will reduce the charge of willful defiance of orders to the lesser charge of disobeying orders."

"My apologies," Byakuya said calmly, "but I refuse."

"Your refusal is noted," Sadao said, frowning deeply, "as is your generally uncooperative and contrary attitude."

He looked down at the next charge.

"You have been charged with the abduction of Abarai Renji from military custody and defying an order of death for the same. Can you explain this?"

Byakuya nodded.

"I was informed by an anonymous source and privately confirmed that the Gotei 13 had become aware of Aizen attempting to use prisoners to create powerful hollow soldiers who could possess bodies that looked like ours. He planned for these to infiltrate the Seireitei, and that, once there, they would subvert and kill others. Had the technology been viable, he could conceivably have caused devastating damage to our forces. However, I also learned while in Las Noches that the technology was imperfect, and that allowing Abarai Renji to remain there would undoubtedly assist them in completing the process. It was then that I attempted to deny Aizen that ability. However, upon my return, the second division tried to take custody of my fukutaichou without due process. I surrendered at that time and accepted punishment for my crimes to that point…as was determined by Soutaichou. In exchange, he agreed that all charges against me at the time would be dropped, but he told me that if Renji injured anyone at the healing center, because of his affected mental state, he would be killed. Still, he agreed to allow the medical team to assess Abarai fukutaichou's condition to see if it could be cured. Before that could be done, an incident caused Renji to feel threatened and he did slightly injure someone. Soutaichou immediately ordered his death."

"And what was your response?"

"I went to Abarai Renji and liberated him from the healing center before the death warrant could be carried out. Actually, though, he ended up carrying me, first into the living world, then into Hueco Mundo, where we were captured and briefly held by Aizen Sousuke. We escaped and went into hiding while a scientist known to us studied ways to cure Renji. He found one and we planned for Renji to undergo that treatment. As far as I know, he has had that treatment and is in recovery."

"And where is he recovering? Who was responsible for curing him?" Sadao asked.

"I cannot reveal that information at this time. Because the order to execute him has not been lifted and he is not fully recovered, he must be allowed time to complete his healing before returning to the Seireitei."

"And you are aware that his failure to appear here in your defense may earn you a death sentence."

"Renji would be here if he was physically able. If this council would allow me to make contact with him and ascertain his condition…"

"We will not waste time waiting around to hear from," said Sadao shortly, "And in any case, he was reported to be possessed by a hollow. I doubt that his testimony would hold much weight with us anyway."

He paused and glanced down at the papers in his hand.

"I believe we have addressed all of the charges against you. We will adjourn and call you back into this chamber when we have decided your guilt or innocence. You are remanded to the Repentance Center until our decision."

"Gomen nasai," said a sweet, feminine voice, "But as Kuchiki Byakuya's physician, I cannot condone his being taken to that place. He has recently undergone major surgery for life threatening injuries and would suffer in the absence of proper pain relief methods that will not function within the cellblock."

The council members murmured softly for several minutes, then Sadao turned back to Unohana taichou.

"While we understand your concern, of course," he explained, "we believe that other means can be used to monitor his condition and relieve his pain. Kuchiki Byakuya has already fled our jurisdiction. He is a flight risk, and by our laws, he must be kept in the Repentance Center."

Unohana's blue eyes flared softly.

"I do believe," she said, looking into each councilor's eyes, "that I must have misheard you. You have heard testimony from Kuchiki Byakuya's physician recommending continued hospitalization…and you dare to oppose proper treatment of his wounds?"

"I think," Sadao said, "that you misunderstand. We are not denying him treatment. He will simply need treatment that can be used within the cellblock. This is understandable, considering his history of abduction and flight."

"He has not been proven guilty of any of those crimes yet…and who are you to be making medical decisions? You have no right."

Byakuya caught his breath in wonder at Unohana's penchant for getting what she wanted. Unfortunately, despite her charms and persistence, the head councilor shook his head.

"We order that Kuchiki Byakuya be removed immediately to the Repentance Center."

A group of guards stepped forward and Byakuya rose quietly and turned to follow them. They led him out of the council chambers and up the hill to the huge white building that housed the Repentance Center. As he passed inside, he shivered involuntarily at the repression of his reiatsu and the return of pain to his body. Unohana taichou stopped the guards and changed the noble's bandages, then gave him an injection to control the pain. Then, the group continued on into the center.

As they ascended the steps to his cell, Byakuya began to feel lightheaded, and as they reached the top and his cell was opened, he paused upon stepping inside and dropped into a chair. Unohana taichou sat near him and examined him carefully.

"Being in this cellblock is definitely affecting you. I will speak to your elders and we will pursue a release to the healing center. We will not allow you to be mistreated."

"Arigato, Unohana-san," Byakuya said softly, leaning against the wall for a moment.

He watched in silence as she left and was about to make his way to the bed, when his cell door opened again and Head Elder, Kuchiki Nori entered along with Ginrei. Byakuya's grandfather looked calm, despite everything, but Tetsuya's eyes flared angrily.

"We have already demanded an appeal of your confinement here and lodged a complaint with the Royal Court about the treatment of your case. Unfortunately, without any definitive proof of Abarai Renji's current condition, we cannot obtain sufficient support to overturn the decision to try you before Central 46. Still, they will not get away with placing you here while you are still obviously not well enough to be placed in this tower."

"Nori, you have my gratitude for acting on my behalf. I know the council is disturbed by the news of my association with Abarai Renji. I am thankful that they are still willing to argue in my defense."

Nori shook his head.

"Whatever we think of your relationship with your fukutaichou, Byakuya-sama," he said, bracingly, we will not allow our leader to be treated in such an unfitting manner. They are treading all over your rights. I see now why you felt you had to defy them to seek Abarai-san's rescue and recovery. They are only concerned with keeping this as quiet as possible. They seem to care nothing for proper procedure. Your Soutaichou seems sympathetic to some extent, but he stops short of going against the council of Central 46. Still, that's not terribly surprising…"

"No," Byakuya said softly, "And I will not allow myself to be goaded into distress over it. I will simply bear what I must until Renji comes. He will come back."

"I hope so," Ginrei said softly, "If he wants to change your fate, he must return soon."


	15. Waiting

**Chapter 15: Waiting**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**I raised my eyes to the stars for comfort, and looking deeply, I found you among them. Caressed by midnight blue and lit with moonlight, you reminded me that as long as this heart remembers you, I am not alone.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya knelt silently on his bed, leaned, with his shoulder and face pressed against the wall, and peering out of the Repentance Cell. He shivered as cold air swirled into the room, disturbing the fabric of his thin yukata. He slipped a blanket around his shoulders, but found that it provided only a meager bit of comfort. He looked at the stars and moon, then out over the top of Soukyoku Hill, where there rebuilt stand stood starkly outlined, a solemn reminder of what he could be facing if Renji did not return in time. He had heard from Ichigo that the baby had been born successfully, and that he was a full shinigami, but although Kisuke had immediately provided electronic surveillance of both Renji and the baby to Central 46, the council wired back that the sendings were too vulnerable to editing, and therefore, had been rejected. They were still deliberating on whether or not to release him to return to the healing center for the remainder of the trial, but had adjourned for the night, making it a moot point. The pain still flared badly from time to time, but he had had more than enough practice at diverting himself away from pain that he managed to bear it in silence.

He thought back to the small clip he had been shown of their child. A smile came to his lips, and he wondered at how just the thought of their son could lift his spirits and make him smile like that, even locked away in such a cold, empty place. He closed his eyes and pictured a recovering Renji, holding their son and feeding him, talking to him in that sweet, gentle tone he used with very young children and suffering tears in his eyes at missing him. He hated to imagine Renji in pain, but things being as they were, he needed to feel Renji's longing for him.

He was brought suddenly out of his reverie by a sharp, cut off cry somewhere outside the building. Instantly, he was in his feet and across the cell.

"Naoki!" he called softly to the guard on duty.

"Yes, Kuchiki taichou?" the guard said questioningly.

"There was a cry outside. Perhaps there is trouble. It sounded like it came from the guard post."

The guard turned to his partner.

"Go and check in with the guard detail downstairs and report back immediately. Do not open the doors to the…"

He broke off at the sound of footsteps running up the stairs.

"No, wait, Mitsuru!" Naoki hissed, placing his back against the cell bars.

"Naoki," said Byakuya, "Let me have a weapon. I swear to you that I will not escape. I only mean to…"

"I am sorry, Kuchiki taichou," the guard said as the footsteps closed in, "It isn't allowed."

"Naoki!" Mitsuru cried as four cloaked and hooded men burst into the room.

The two braced themselves and attacked as their assailants charged them. Byakuya held his breath as the two clashed with the others. Two of the men broke free and set about trying to break the lock on the cell. Byakuya picked up the chair in the cell and smashed it against the bars, catching the hands of one of the attackers and making him howl in pain.

"You bastard!" yelled the other who slammed his body against the cell door.

Mitsuru screamed and fell to the floor as one of the assailant's knives slashed across his chest. Naoki turned to defend his fallen partner and met with the same fate as Mitsuru. One of the cloaked men quickly knelt and searched the guards' bodies for the keys to the cell. Locating the keys, he joined the other three and closed in on the imprisoned noble.

"What's the matter, Kuchiki taichou?" one said, "Don't you want to get out of that cell?"

"Who are you?" Byakuya demanded, backing away as they opened the cell door and moved towards him.

"That's not your concern!" snapped the leader of the cloaked men, "There are important things going on and we need you to complete a task. We want Abarai and the child. And you're going to help us get them!"

"What do you want with Renji?" cried Byakuya, tearing away as two of the men tried to take hold of him.

He broke past them and onto the stairway, painfully aware of the cost of not having his flash step. The men were after him instantly, their feet pounding on the stairs behind him. He reached the bottom of the stairs and ran for the doors, nearly tripping over the guards they had killed and ignoring their calls for him to stop. He threw his weight against the doors, only to find they had been carefully locked. He struck them a second time, and then turned and ran for the commissary. He heard a satisfied grunt and an arm wrapped around his waist, then he was taken off his feet and thrown to the floor. He ignored the jarring pain and was on his feet in an instant and fighting. He struck out with brutally swift hands and feet, sending two of his attackers to the floor and leaving him with two to fight. As he threw himself against the two, an alarm rose up, shattering the calm around the outside of the center.

"All right," said one of his attackers in a gravelly voice, "We don't have time for any more games!"

Byakuya tried to jump away as the cloaked man fired a small dart at him. He escaped the first, only to be hit by a second, fired by the second attacker. The two assailants Byakuya had knocked down came to their feet as the noble sagged and dropped to his knees.

"Hurry!" shouted the gravelly voiced man, "They're coming! We need to…"

He broke off as a groggy Byakuya struck at him, swaying and off balance, but still strong enough to be problematic.

"Damn it! We're out of time!" yelled one of the others as something crashed against the entry doors. His assailants broke and ran as Byakuya collapsed onto the floor. As one attacker passed, he placed something in one dead guard's hand, then forced a bloodied sword in the noble's hand. He smiled at Byakuya.

"Sleep tight, Kuchiki taichou."

Numbness flooded the noble's frozen body and everything around him faded. When he woke again, he was back in his cell, lying in bed, with Unohana taichou at his side. Though her expression looked calm enough, Byakuya could see the anger in her eyes.

"Unohana taichou," he said softly, "Arigato. You have my gratitude."

The healer smiled.

"You are most welcome, Kuchiki taichou," she answered, giving him a concerned smile, "I wish that I could do more, but the council of Central 46 is refusing to listen to anything I tell them."

"I don't understand," said Byakuya, blinking, "What do you mean?"

"The fact is that you were found along with the four slain guards and it was assumed that you killed them, but lost consciousness as you attempted to escape."

"What?" Byakuya said, starting to sit up.

Unohana taichou pushed him back gently.

"Lie down. I know it's not true. But Central 46 wants an inquiry into the incident, because if they find that you did kill the guards…"

"It will identify me as a hazardous being, and will give them the right to bypass the thirty day requirement if I am sentenced to death," Byakuya finished, "but I didn't kill the guards. I never even had a weapon. They put it in my hand as I lost consciousness!"

"They also must have placed that dart gun in the guard's hand so that it would explain the drug in your system. The scene was manipulated to make you look guilty. But no crime scene is perfect. Something will be found to prove that…"

"Don't you understand," Byakuya said quietly, "The men who came to take me said they wanted Renji and our child. I would be willing to bet I know who paid them to do this."

"They cannot be allowed to get away with this. I will speak to Soutaichou."

"Soutaichou cannot overrule the decisions of Central 46. Retsu, the councilors are terrified because of how close Aizen came to making this technology work. And Renji was a part of what Aizen tried to do. Central 46 has a long history of trampling on people's rights, thinking they are protecting our society by squashing what they cannot control. And it is likely that they will now render the conviction and carry out the sentence as quickly as possible. Then, they will go after Renji. They already have an execution order for him."

The healer's eyes saddened and she nodded.

"It seems that you are most likely correct," she admitted, "I wish I knew of something I could do to help."

Byakuya shook his head solemnly.

"The only thing that will help now is for Renji to bring the child before the Kuchiki Council. Once the council verifies that Renji is no longer possessed by a hollow and our child is a full shinigami, then the clan can claim royal privilege, and halt the execution order."

"But what about the charges against you?" the healer asked.

"If it is proven that Renji is not, in fact, possessed by a hollow, then it adds validity to my arguments and actions by proving that Renji's rights were being violated. When that happens, the clan will have the right to review and amend all charges and penalties against me. The only charges of any kind that will affect me at that point are for military infractions related to Renji's removal from the healing center…but those are in the hands of Soutaichou and will only be minor ones."

He stopped speaking as the cell door opened and a group of Central 46 guards entered the cellblock.

"Kuchiki taichou," said the guard captain, "We have been ordered to take you to Central 46 for the rendering of the verdict for the charges against you."

"I am still treating Kuchiki taichou for his injuries," said Unohana, "You will have to wait until I am finished."

"Um…oh," said the guard captain uncertainly, as the healer's large blue eyes focused on him, "Of, of course, Unohana taichou! S-so sorry to have bothered you."

"That's fine," the healer said calmly, "Just wait outside."

She watched them leave, then summoned a hell butterfly.

"Urahara-san," she said quietly, "Our time seems to have run out. Renji and the child must return to the Seireitei immediately. The verdict is about to be read, and the council is planning a maneuver to bypass the waiting period for execution. I do not know who exactly is pulling the strings or why, but you must hurry if you are to stop Kuchiki taichou from being executed."

She sent the hell butterfly fluttering away, then turned back to Byakuya.

"Now, we'll just stall those men out there for as long as we can, ne?"

Byakuya smiled.

"Arigato, Unohana taichou," he said gratefully.

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji focused deeply, his eyes on the zanpakutou in his hands. His reiatsu started as a soft glow around his body, and as he focused harder on the blade, the redness brightened and intensified.

"Good," said Kisuke, "Now, try going into shikai again.

"Shit, it's been forever since I was able to," Renji complained, sweat breaking out on his forehead, "Looking at me now, who would believe I ever achieved ban kai, you know?"

"Don't you worry about that, Renji," Kisuke reprimanded him gently, "Keep your mind on what you're doing. Before we can leave for the Seireitei, you at least have to have your shikai under control and have the reiatsu to cross over. Focus on those two things. Now, let's see that shikai!"

Renji turned the blade and ran a hand along the back.

"Howl, Zabimaru!" he cried fiercely.

His power flared around the blade and as the two men watched, the blade shimmered and started to change. But just as they thought it would work, the redhead made a sound of discomfort and then swore as the blade remained sealed.

"Damn!" Renji yelled furiously, "DAMN IT TO HELL! I AM GOING TO GET THIS FUCKING THING TO WORK IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

"Hey…take it easy, all right?" said Kisuke bracingly, "You just spent quite a few years cooped up without any powers, then you carried a kid. Give yourself a break, will you."

"I can feel it, Kisuke," Renji said angrily, "I feel the bastard in there, and I feel like he's just being stubborn. I don't know. Maybe he's pissed at us being disconnected for so long."

"Or maybe he's just determined to make you work for it," Kisuke advised, "But being that it seems that he's just being stubborn, I may have an idea."

Renji frowned.

"Why do I not like the sound of that?" he asked.

"Well, it's simple," the shopkeeper explained, "You say that you feel the spirit's presence in your zanpakutou, but can't seem to connect. And you have a sense that Zabimaru is being testy. Now, he might be the most stubborn zanpakutou in existence…"

He broke off and smiled down at his own zanpakutou.

"Okay, maybe the second most stubborn," he commented wryly, "but no zanpakutou is just going to stand around and let his shinigami get killed. So I suggest…"

"Ah, no," said Renji, his eyes widening as Kisuke drew his blade, "Uh, that's okay, Kisuke. I can, I can convince him. Oh…ah, oh shit!"

Red fire roared out of Benihime and flashed across the space between them.

"Now, Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji yelled.

Renji and Kisuke stared in dismay as Zabimaru flashed in Renji's hands and the skeletal snake unexpectedly erupted from the blade and shot forward. At the last moment, Kisuke flash stepped away. He watched, trying not to laugh as the snake swerved and twisted, only partially controlled. Renji swore and recalled the blade, forcing it back into its jagged shikai form.

"Stupid monkey!" Renji snapped furiously.

"Well, you did raise your ban kai," Kisuke commented, sliding his weapon back into its sheath, "You did well, Renji. I didn't think we'd see your ban kai at all for months. Just a few more days and we…"

A hell butterfly appeared and distracted the shopkeeper mid-sentence.

_Urahara-san, our time seems to have run out. Renji and the child must return to the Seireitei immediately. The verdict is about to be read, and the council is planning a maneuver to bypass the waiting period for execution. I do not know who exactly is pulling the strings or why, but you must hurry if you are to stop Kuchiki taichou from being executed._

"Kisuke," Renji said in a low voice, "It looks like our time just ran out."

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya followed the guard detail into the Central 46 chambers, feeling a shiver as he noticed that the Kuchiki elders were not present, and that the expressions on the faces of the councilors deciding his fate were decidedly somber. He sat down quietly as directed and waited in silence for the arrival of the head councilor. Sadao entered the chamber a few moments later, carrying a report in his hand. He walked to his chair and stood in front of it to address those who had gathered.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," the councilor said sternly, "We have received the report on the incident at the Repentance Center that resulted in the deaths of four guards. In consideration of that report, this council hereby opts to recognize you as a hazardous being. As such, you are to be restrained for any further hearings. That being said, this council has come to an end of our deliberations and we are ready to render our decision."

He paused and glared down at the noble.

"We, the councilors of Central 46 find you guilty of abduction of military personnel as well as high treason, for that you did cause the abducted officer to fall into the hands of Aizen Sousuke. The penalty for these crimes is death, and due to your status as a hazardous being, that sentence will be carried out without delay. You are to be taken to the central execution grounds immediately to suffer death by Soukyoku!"


	16. When I Close My Eyes

**Chapter 16: When I Close My Eyes**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**How many days did I close my eyes against the sunrise? How many times did I turn away from the soft light of the moon? How many flowers did I crush in my palm? And how many tears fell when I thought you were gone? Now, at last, this sweet, silent moment has come. Seeing you rise up over the horizon, the bright light shining around you, even if this breath is my last, it was not taken in vain, because it was breathed for you.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

An odd numbness stole over Byakuya as the head councilor's words sank in and people began to move and shout all around him. The guards nearest him closed around him and pulled him out of the Central 46 meeting chamber as raised voices clashed in the room behind them. He was led into a small, windowless room and left under guard for several minutes, then Sadao appeared and ordered him bound. Byakuya stood quietly as his hands were fastened behind his back, then gazed at the head councilor quietly. Sadao moved closer, glaring at him.

"Your fate is sealed, Kuchiki taichou, as is the fate of your hollow-possessed fukutaichou. No matter how you tried to stop it, you have lost. And now you have given your life in that vain effort."

"Let me ask you a question, before we leave for the execution site," Byakuya said softly.

Sadao gazed at him for a moment, then nodded.

"I have noticed during the trial, the particular venom that you have for me and for Renji. And it occurred to me that while we knew of you, we did not know you or have an association with you. Why then, do you seem so invested in watching us die? What have we done to earn your bitterness and rancor?"

Sadao's eyes closed, and he took a short breath, then he opened them again.

"I will tell you what. We will walk out to the stand and you will take your place. And before they lift you up onto the Soukyoku, I will tell you why I wanted so badly for you and your fukutaichou to die. You are correct in perceiving that I had an agenda all along, but while yours was to protect, mine was to avenge what I could not protect. Stand quietly now, taichou, the time for fighting is past. Now you will know the futility of thinking that you can defy fate."

The door opened and the other council members filed in.

"The ones in the gallery were expelled and the secret path to the central execution site has been cleared."

Sadao looked meaningfully into Byakuya's eyes.

"Come Kuchiki taichou. It is time."

The guards led Byakuya out of the waiting room and were followed by the Central 46 councilors into a corridor that bypassed the one that people exiting Central 46 usually used. They emerged well ahead of the rush of shinigamis heading towards the execution grounds as news of Byakuya's conviction and impending execution spread like wildfire across the Seireitei.

"You _did_ order the grounds prepared and heavily guarded, ne?" Sadao asked the head of security.

"Yes, sir. There will be no disturbances at the execution site."

"Good. I want you to watch carefully for the criminal, Abarai Renji. He is to be killed immediately if he tries to interfere with Kuchiki taichou's execution."

"Yes, sir," said the guard, flash stepping away.

Byakuya walked calmly forward, his eyes focused on the ground just ahead of him and his mind deeply focused.

_I have to hope that there was enough time for Renji's reiatsu to be fully restored so that he could return. Everything depends on that. But even if he cannot come, I am at peace with my fate. Kisuke, Ichigo and Yoruichi will protect and conceal Renji if I should be lost._

The group came to the end of the road and quickly ascended the trail and crossed the bridge onto Soukyoku Hill. He didn't know what to feel inside as he was led past the group of taichous and fukutaichous near the base of the stand. The guards stopped him in front of the stand and turned him to face the swelling crowd of shinigamis. Tears threatened as his eyes found a furious looking Ichigo, standing with an arm around an inconsolable Rukia. The substitute shinigami's eyes met his and they exchanged a silent agreement.

_I will watch over her for you if…_

His breath caught at the sight of the entire contingent of the sixth division, standing silently in straight rows at attention. He noticed suddenly that none of the Kuchiki elders were in attendance. There was no time to wonder why as the captain commander stepped forward and silence fell over the top of Sokyoku Hill.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Yamamoto Soutaichou said solemnly, "You have been convicted of high treason and sentenced to death by Soukyoku. Do you have any last words or requests?"

"I do," Byakuya said softly, "I want your word that Abarai Renji will not be harmed, that his rights will be protected, and that he will be given into the custody of the Kuchiki clan and allowed to raise our son. I ask additionally that he should be restored in rank as sixth division fukutaichou and advanced to candidacy for sixth division taichou."

"Very well, your requests are noted. Continue with the execution."

Sadao moved forward as Byakuya was unbound and placed at the base of the stand. He met Byakuya's eyes calmly and spoke only loud enough for the condemned taichou to hear.

"Kuchiki taichou, do you remember a shinigami named Saito Naoko?"

Byakuya frowned in thought for a moment, then nodded.

"He was a newly seated officer in my division. He disappeared and was presumed dead in the same battle in which Abarai fukutaichou was taken prisoner."

"Naoko was my daughter's son. We have different surnames because of this and, being one who wished to make a name for himself, Naoko did not use his connection to me to spur his achievement. I am proud to say that my grandson earned every accolade he was ever awarded. He was a respected officer in the fifth division when Aizen Sousuke betrayed us all, and in the wake of that betrayal, he was devastated."

The councilor cleared his throat softly and blinked slowly, remembering.

"You remember, I am sure, how the members of the squads led by the betrayers were shunned and given lower positions when they sought to leave their scorned divisions. They were just as certainly betrayed as everyone else, but they paid a higher price. You and I are men of action. We know well the vagaries of such situations. I know that you understand, because your division was one of the only places of refuge for shinigamis like my Naoko. Because you demanded tolerance among your squad members, Naoko joined your division. He sought a place close to a great taichou who, like him, wanted nothing more than to see Aizen pay for his crimes. He knew that because Aizen had used Rukia in his plans, that you would be relentless in your pursuit of him. He wanted badly to be a part of that. His father tried to warn him not to let his emotions about his former taichou lead him to bad decisions. But Naoko was adamant, and he was also skilled enough that he was recommended to and accepted by your division."

"And every day he stood with us, he added pride to his name, and thereby yours," Byakuya said quietly, "He was a valuable officer, well-liked and highly skilled. That is why he accompanied us to the battlefield that day."

"The day of that battle," Sadao went on, "I know he was at your side. I questioned several of those who returned alive, and one of them told me that he saw Naoko fall as he defended you, and saw him being dragged away with several other officers who were captured that day. All of the ones who were taken into the enemy fortress with Abarai eventually died. Reports came back…and one of them noted a lone shinigami had stumbled into the shinigami base on the border between our world and Hueco Mundo."

The councilor took a shuddering breath.

"He was immediately placed in the healing center and left there to recover. During the night, he left the healing center, and he methodically moved about the fortress, killing several strong officers from behind, using stealth. Finally, he was apprehended and it was found that he had a hollow within him. We returned him to the Seireitei and kept him in confinement. Everything was done to try to heal him, but he could not be healed. And eventually, he lost his mind and became a full hollow, at which time, we were forced to execute him. I signed the execution order for my own grandson. I know that this means nothing to you. Naoko was just another pawn you moved about on the battlefield, another victim Aizen's treachery claimed. Your fukutaichou, too, was meant to walk the same path my grandson did. There is no cure for what Aizen did…and even if there somehow was, I entrusted my grandson to you and to your fukutaichou, and you let him die in an awful, dishonorable fashion. I cannot bring him back, but I can make you and Abarai share the same fate that he was given. Don't you understand? Abarai should have died like the rest of his men that were taken along with him. He shouldn't have lived. But because of your recklessness and your disregarding of the rules _we_ all had to follow, my grandson is dead, but your lover lives. It's wrong, Kuchiki taichou, but that wrong is about to be righted. Abarai will die, as he would have if you hadn't interfered, and you will give your life as payment for me losing my grandson. I just wanted you to know, as you take your last breath, why it is that you are going to die."

"So, you were behind the orders the second division was given to execute affected shinigamis quietly? To seek and kill Renji? All of that?"

"I pressured the council and called in favors to make that happen, yes. I did not want Aizen to succeed in his plans. You must see that drastic measures were necessary."

"Was it really that?" Byakuya asked softly, "Or were you so entrenched in your loss, and so guilt ridden at what you had to do that you actually ordered the deaths of some who might have been saved, only to ease your own conscience?"

"How DARE You? How dare you accuse me of killing the innocent! Aizen is the killer. He is the betrayer. And once one is taken by him, that person is lost…even your Renji."

"No, Renji was cured. The hollow inside him was given a heart and is now a shinigami child. I am sorry for your loss. Naoko was an outstanding officer, but I know in my heart, and you should know in yours, that if he could speak, he would want Renji to survive. He would want someone to overcome Aizen's control…to prove it could be done. He would be happy that, despite the losses of some, that at least one emerged alive. That one is Renji. You must allow him to live."

"No," said Sadao firmly, "You and Renji are going to die. Mercy on your soul, Kuchiki taichou. Goodbye."

Byakuya released a shaky breath and closed his eyes for a moment as Sadao moved away. When he opened them again, he felt the power of the Soukyoku gathering. Byakuya straightened, forcing calm through his body as his arms were forced out away from his body and he was slowly raised to the top of the stand. He made his heart quiet and breathed slowly, picturing Renji and their child in his mind and wishing to himself that he could have seen the redhead one more time, and that just once, he could have held their son. He consoled himself with the fact that Renji had friends to help him. They would make sure that Renji was kept safe, even though Byakuya, himself, was going to die.

_I was afraid before…when I heard the words and knew that they were going to bring me here immediately. My heart felt like ice inside my chest. But thinking of Renji and our child makes me warm inside. I want to keep that warmth as I pass over, so that my heart will be unburdened, and I will not die with a heart that is unresolved. I lived to love him, I rebelled to save him, and I will pay the price for my defiance willingly. Knowing that I took him back from Aizen's hand and breathed life back into him…and that together we brought new life into this world, I am content. I am at peace. I am ready._

He breathed calmly, even as the power of the Soukyoku blazed to life below him, even as Rukia cried for him, and Sadao watched with what should have been triumph, but now looked like just another kind of unresolved pain. He met the fiery eyes of his winged executioner as the firebird rose and moved forward, closing the distance between them. He meant to keep his eyes opened, but the brightness and heat became too painful, until taking a breath meant breathing in fire and he felt the raging heat sink beneath his skin. He heard Rukia scream his name and hoped that Ichigo was holding her tightly. The scream of the firebird flashed through him from only inches away, freezing him in place and forcing his mind to accept that moment as his last. He held an image of Rukia, Renji and the baby in his spellbound mind as the Soukyoku connected briefly with him.

_Do not worry. Your pain will be over in a moment. I will be swift and merciful. Surrender._

He stopped breathing and waited for the end to come as his heart counted down the last seconds.

_Renji…Aishiteru yo…_

XXXXXXXXXX

_Three years ago, I got in Aizen Sousuke's way as he tried to capture Kuchiki Byakuya. However much of a fuck up I might have been before that, however clumsy I might have been, however slow…in that moment, I was fast enough, strong enough and determined enough to throw myself between them. I have never once regretted that decision. I did wonder, during the times when the hollows were beating me and fucking me senseless, why I stayed alive. Back then, I wanted to die. But something made me fight. Something made me hope. Something made me survive. And now, I know what it was. It's because that moment out there in the dark in Hueco Mundo, wasn't the end…nor was the time I spent trapped and suffering._

_Some part of me knew that he still needs me…_

_He needs me now…_

_So as I stand before the Kuchiki elders and I show them the child we made, as Kisuke explains the miracle that brought me back from the abyss, I think about the one who really made it happen, who mapped out a plan to save me, who defied the rules to come for me, and who loves me enough that he would die to save me._

_I am not going to let that happen._

_The door slams open and a messenger runs into the room._

"_Sirs!" the kid cries, "Byakuya-sama has been sentenced to death by Soukyoku. They are taking him there for immediate execution!"_

_I turn and hand our baby to Kisuke. I know he'll be safe in those hands that helped bring him into the world. I start to turn for the door, but feel a hand on my shoulder. My brown eyes meet Kuchiki Nori's and the head elder smiles._

"_We are with you," he says, glancing at the newly confirmed heir, then back at the others._

_The next thing I know, we are flash stepping madly over rooftops and up the streets to Soukyoku Hill, our zanpakutous in hand and our hearts set on one mission._

_Don't let him die…_

_We reach the edge of Soukyoku Hill, and the firebird is already rising. I can feel the heat on my skin from here, and I can see the small outline of the slender, beautiful body I claimed as mine. Despite impending death, his reiatsu is calm, maddeningly calm…as though instead of dying, he might be sitting at his desk in the sixth division, signing off on mission reports. Or stealing glances at the red-haired man sitting across from him. My heart screams for him to hear me._

_Guards step into our path, and without a word, the elders shove them aside with forceful kido, and we flash step forward. We are challenged again by Central 46 security forces and the full contingent of councilors. The head councilor turns and orders Soutaichou to send the captains to stop us, and one by one, they rise up in front of us._

"_By right of Royal Privilege, I demand this execution be stopped!" Nori cries, "Abarai Renji has provided our council with definitive proof that his basic rights were violated in the decision to deny him rescue from his incarceration in Las Noches! The charges against our leader are therefore doubtful, giving us leave to demand the right to review and amend them!"_

_Soutaichou holds the Soukyoku, poised and ready to strike. Byakuya's eyes are closed and I can't even see the rise and fall of his breathing. He was a breath from being taken and is frozen in that last moment._

_Sadao steps forward and faces Nori, the guards moving to stand at his back._

"_Kuchiki Nori," he says in a low voice, "You nobles are always thinking that you are above the law, but the laws will be enforced by this council. Kuchiki Byakuya will die and after, the execution order for Abarai Renji will be enforced as well. Stand down and accept fate as the rest of us have to do! You aren't privileged to the point of defying death. And death is what all of you will get if you interfere. Royal Privilege only preserves you for as long as there is no capital offense…but Kuchiki Byakuya has offended in the most basic way. He defied orders to abandon attempts to rescue and preserve the life of Abarai Renji, and in so doing, allowed Aizen Sousuke to nearly reach his goal of infiltrating the Seireitei."_

"_The technology wouldn't have worked!" Nori argues, "Urahara Kisuke gave us proof that the procedure used on Abarai Renji failed, and that was why he was able to find a cure for the hollow possession. This council tried to have him killed and is still seeking to punish him for fighting to gain his freedom. And not only has he gained his freedom, he helped Urahara Kisuke discover a way to treat any others that Aizen Sousuke attempts to use in this manner. All of this was made possible because Kuchiki Byakuya followed his instincts and rescued Abarai-san. Our leader did not give Aizen Sousuke anything, and, in fact, denied him what he sought. This execution is a violation of our Royal Privilege, and we will not allow it!"_

_The elders rise up into the air and I move with them. Sadao screams at the guards to attack, and they move towards us, swords drawn and ready to fight. Soutaichou stands quietly, holding the Soukyoku back as Sadao howls an order to continue the execution. Soutaichou's eyes look into mine, sending me a silent, desperate message. The council of Central 46 commands the military. He has to obey them._

_Zabimaru is in my hand and the skeletal snake is in front of me with no more than a thought. I still can't control the damned thing for shit, but I send a fire blast through the guards to clear the way and send my body forward at a blistering speed. Everything slows to a crawl as I fly towards Byakuya and the skeletal snake soars crookedly towards the Soukyoku. It hits the firebird and explodes, screaming in fury as it disintegrates and does its best to take that damned bird with it. It doesn't destroy the firebird, but slows it enough for me to slip in between Byakuya and the Soukyoku, and to blast him free with kido._

_He makes a sound of surprise as my arm wraps around him and pulls him away just before the firebird collides with the stand. The stand evaporates and the firebird screams in fury and turns. Its eye meets mine, and it sees the man I'm holding._

"_Renji…" Byakuya says in a voice that tells me he doesn't know if I'm really there or if the thing killed him and this is just a last vision as he dies._

_I tighten my arm around him, kiss him hard on the mouth to tell him I'm real, then I lose the seal on his powers and he calls Senbonzakura into his hand. We set down on the ground as the firebird sweeps towards us, screeching to let us know that it won't stop until it has us. Out of the corner of my eye, I see him standing beside me, dressed only in yukata, barefoot, but holding senbonzakura tip down and letting go._

"_Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."_

_We both know it won't be enough, but we put our arms around each other and hold on._

"_Arigato, Renji," he says, kissing my earlobe._

_I hold that too-light, thin body of his and pray there's something left of us as the firebird hits his senkei and everything explodes in a hail of pink and gold. We hang onto each other as we're thrown to our knees, watching and waiting for that damned thing to appear. But as the light fades and the smoke clears, we are left kneeling there, with our arms around each other, looking up at the Royal Guardsman who just saved our lives._

"_By order of the spirit king, these two men are fully pardoned of all crimes and sentences. Let no man raise a hand against them in defiance of the king!"_

_The Kuchiki elders step forward, sliding their weapons back into their sheaths. They help us to our feet as Ichigo and Rukia run to us. Rukia throws her arms around her brother, and Ichigo grabs me._

"_You all right, Renji?" he asks._

_I nod and stand there watching Byakuya and Rukia hold each other. It's strange, but this is the first time they've ever really done something so like a natural brother and sister. He is always so reserved and Rukia so intimidated, they've never just held each other like this. But they're holding each other now…and both of them are smiling. Rukia lets him go and turns to hug me. But as she moves closer, her smile fades and I see an odd reflection in her eyes. Someone is behind me, running towards me with a drawn sword and screaming._

"_Die, you bastard!" Sadao sobs, "You have to die!"_

_I hear a flash step and a sword crosses his just in time to spare me being run through. Byakuya stands with his sword locked against the head councilor's, his eyes on Sadao's and not moving to finish him._

"_He has to die!" sobs the councilor again, "This is not justice! Why? Why was my Naoko taken and not you! Why? Why? Why didn't you die instead of him?"_

_Byakuya sends his sword spinning away with a flick of his wrist, then sheaths his own sword and takes the man's extended hands._

"_Aizen Sousuke," he says, making Sadao freeze and stare, "Sadao, we are not your enemy. We are not the ones who took your grandson's life, and despite your having to give the order, neither are you. It was Aizen Sousuke who betrayed us and dishonored him, Aizen Sousuke who set him on the path to being on that battlefield, who took him captive and turned him into the hollow that had to be destroyed. And Renji and I will swear to you now, that we will not rest until that man is made to pay for his crimes. You have our word."_

_Sadao's eyes get that devastated, defeated look you see when a person loses a loved one, and he falls onto his knees, taking Byakuya with him. It's like he's held it inside, letting out only his anger for all of these years. But Byakuya's promise somehow reaches him, and everything bottled up inside of him comes out on a flood of hard cries and tears. Byakuya's eyes are sad as he watches, because he understands. He's faced loss like that too. He remains on his knees as Councilor Fumio steps forward and helps Sadao to his feet. He looks at Byakuya._

"_You and Abarai-san are free. Our council offers its deepest apologies for its actions against you."_

_He turns and leads the shaken councilor away. I look down at Byakuya and pull him to his feet. His eyes are tired, but life is coming back into them. We walk back to where the captain commander and the taichous are waiting. Soutaichou looks quietly at me, then at the silent, thinly dressed, barefoot man at my side._

"_Abarai fukutaichou," he says solemnly, "As you have been cleared of all charges and have been given leave to return to duty, I hereby order you to take Kuchiki taichou into custody. He must still face a penalty for violating orders."_

_Shit. I knew he would have to do something, but I was really hoping he'd figure we've already been through enough._

"_Sir?" I say, trying to think of an argument._

"_Kuchiki taichou is hereby ordered to serve thirty days of confinement in the sixth division cellblock. If he leaves his cell for any reason, he is to be bound, and personally guarded at all times by you. You are not to allow him out of your sight. Do you understand?"_

_Oh yeah, I understand. And judging by the amused look on Byakuya's face, I think he does too. I'm thinking now that Soutaichou's a little perverted._

_But I'll take that…_

_I'm really looking forward to the next thirty days!_


	17. The Prisoner

**Chapter 17: The Prisoner**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

_**I cannot tell you how it was that I became love's prisoner. The steps that I took were small and seemingly insignificant, each move forward hesitant. But it is a joy to be suddenly encircled in strong arms, held tightly and closely guarded. We have become entangled, bodies, minds and hearts. And for the first time, I do not long for freedom.**_

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"All of my duties have completed as ordered, sir, and the division has been secured for the night," Rikichi reported.

Renji looked up from the report he was finishing and nodded.

"Good. Thanks Rikichi. You can go."

He paused for a moment as Rikichi, bowed, turned and started to leave.

"Third Seat Rikichi," Renji said, stopping the youth, "Wait."

The third seat turned back to face him.

"You know, when I left here that last time, you weren't even a seated officer at all. You were just some kid who'd fought his way out of the Rukongai and used everything he had to just qualify for a place, any place in this division. No one expected you would ever be an officer, and I don't think that you expected it of yourself."

"You're right about that, Abarai fukutaichou," Rikichi said, lowering his eyes, "All I ever wanted was to fight in your division. I wanted to be strong, like you. That's all that mattered to me."

"So…what changed?" Renji asked softly, "What made you get stronger?"

Rikichi swallowed hard and took a cleansing breath.

"After you were captured, I saw how badly Kuchiki taichou was taking it. He hid it from most people, but something made him willing to relax around me. Sometimes when we would be talking about things related to work, I would see him looking at the tattoo over my eye…and I knew he was thinking about you. I knew that sooner or later, he was going to try to go after you. So, I decided that when he did, I was going to go too. I started working harder, learning everything I could from anyone who would teach me what I wanted to know. I went out into the training grounds at night, after the others had gone, and worked with my zanpakutou. I worked every day until I was too tired to stand, and then every night, I tried to follow Kuchiki taichou. After a while, I found out that he was going into Hueco Mundo, preparing for the rescue mission, but also sometimes just standing on a sand dune, staring at the fortress…and I know he was wishing he could tell you that he hadn't forgotten you…that he was coming to rescue you. At some point, he must have seen improvement in me, because just before the rescue, he and Urahara Kisuke set up a test for me, and Kuchiki taichou asked if I would go with him."

Renji met the youth's eyes gratefully.

"Well, Rikichi, I haven't yet had the chance to tell you how grateful I am that you made sure Taichou did not have to attempt my rescue alone, that you provided the protection I would have."

"Oh…I didn't do so much, really."

"Yes, you did. You took care of him when I couldn't. You listened when he needed to talk. And when he came for me, you made sure that he had a competent officer at his back. That means everything to me…and to Zabimaru. Rikichi, Zabimaru wants to reward you."

"Huh?" said Rikichi, blinking in surprise.

"He wants to mark you."

"He wants to…"

"You don't have to let him. He just wants to redraw the marking over your eye and to make one on your shoulder, if that's okay with you."

"Is it okay?!" the youth exclaimed, "Renji, that's…that's unbelievable!"

Renji laughed softly and drew his zanpakutou. A moment later, the spirit inside appeared next to him.

"Zabimaru," Renji said quietly, "Go ahead."

The spirit moved toward the wide-eyed officer. As he reached for Rikichi, Renji caught his hand and glared into his eyes.

"Don't give that kid the shit you usually give me. You make it painless or I'll have your ass."

Zabimaru scowled, but nodded, and turned back to the youth. He slowly perfected the marking over Rikichi's eye, then turned him and slid his shihakushou down off one shoulder.

"Your shikai is an eagle?" Zabimaru asked softly.

"Yes," Rikichi confirmed.

Renji watched closely as the spirit crafted the eagle marking, nodding in approval as he finished and looked up at Rikichi.

"I will see you in the training grounds," he said, before fading away.

"In the training grounds?" Rikichi repeated, mystified.

"Yeah," Renji said, meeting his eyes warmly, "We are going to see to it that you reach ban kai. That is how we want to show our gratitude."

"B-ban kai?" Rikichi said breathlessly, "Wh-what if I…?"

"Hey," said Renji, frowning, "You think Zabimaru would have offered if he thought for a moment that you couldn't?"

"Renji," breathed Rikichi, "I don't know what to say. Thank you doesn't seem like enough!"

"Then do this for me. Taichou is training me for the taichou's exam. By the time I take the exam, I want you to qualify for fukutaichou. Rikichi, I want you to take my place, watching out for Taichou, after I promote."

Rikichi went quiet and his gaze dropped.

"But…"

"Rikichi, I can't leave my position here, unless I know there's someone I trust looking out for him. I know it seems like he doesn't need it, but he really does. And I can't go until I know someone's going to be there who will do the job right. Maybe you were hoping to follow me, but…"

"No," said Rikichi, shaking his head, "If you trust me to look out for Kuchiki taichou, then that's what I will do…sir."

"Stop calling me sir," Renji said, grinning, "It's after hours. We can relax. Now, get out of here. I have to go check on the prisoner. I hope he behaved himself today."

"He did," Rikichi assured the redhead, "I made sure of it."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, Rikichi."

"Good night, Renji!" Rikcihi said, smiling as he flash stepped away.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Our footsteps echo in the darkened Squad Six hallway as Rukia and I walk down to the cellblock. As he comes into sight, I see that he's sitting cross-legged on the cot, leaning back against the wall. His eyes are closed and his reiatsu is calm, but I know he's awake. He was probably bored as hell, sitting in that cell all day. Or maybe not. He's always been one who could get lost in his head. Makes me wonder what he was thinking about. Whatever it was disappears as we approach. His eyes open and take in Rukia and me, then the baby that I'm holding in my arms._

_"Third seat Rikichi said that you behaved yourself today," I tell him sternly, "so you will be allowed visitors."_

_I open the cell and we go inside. Byakuya remains frozen on the cot, staring at our son wide-eyed, like he's not sure the kid is real. He takes in the sight slowly, his eyes tracing carefully every inch of our little miracle. I hold the kid out and he gives me a helpless look…like he thinks the kid will break if he tries to hold him. Those gray eyes are full of emotion now, full of intense happiness as I move forward and place our child in his arms for the first time._

_After that, it's all over. He falls into those gray-rimmed brown eyes and I'm pretty sure he'll never surface again. Those pretty pale fingers touch our kid's darker skin and a tiny hand wraps around one and pulls it to his mouth. He squeals and gurgles happily, staring up at the reason he exists…the reason he and I are drawing breath at that moment, the one who wouldn't stop searching until he knew I was still alive, who wouldn't stop trying to make a workable plan, the one who sneaked in under Aizen's nose and snatched me back from that monster, who wouldn't give up on bringing me back from the darkness I lived in, the one who lowered his pride and worked his ass off to take care of us while we were in hiding, who Ichigo tells me died keeping Aizen from recapturing me, the one who stood, unafraid and unremorseful as Central 46 sentenced him to death, and who was inches from it when I pulled him out of harms way. If I loved him before, I love him a hundred times more now…and if he looked beautiful to me all those nights we worked side-by-side before I was taken, he looks even more so holding our son and smiling that dreamy little smile._

"_He's…amazing, Renji," he says breathlessly._

_Neither of us can get the smiles off our faces now. It's odd that it should be so warm and that we should be so happy, standing inside a closed cell, everything around us so simple and colorless. But that's what being together like this does for us. _

"_What is his name?" Byakuya asks quietly._

_I give a short laugh._

"_What? You think we'd name him without you?" I ask, "I take it back! You aren't behaving. I think that calls for some kind of punishment."_

"_After we name the baby," chuckles Rukia._

"_Okay," I agree, grudgingly, "You name him, Taichou."_

_He looks deep into our baby's eyes and I can feel his mind working. He sighs softly and smiles._

"_You gave us our beginning," he says, kissing our son's forehead, "so we will call you Hajime…Abarai-Kuchiki Hajime."_

"_Whoa, hang on! Abarai-Kuchiki?" I say, "Did we get married sometime when I wasn't looking, because I don't remember getting married."_

"_Well, you don't expect us to raise the heir to Kuchiki clan leadership out of wedlock, do you?" Byakuya says archly, "That would be scandalous! We must be married immediately after I am released and before the child's introduction gathering."_

"_What? A gathering of the whole damned family, just to say 'hi?' What the hell did I get myself into?"_

"_Abarai, don't swear in front of our son."_

"_Oh kami, it starts already," I groan, making Rukia giggle, "The ball and chain, the nagging, the expectations…"_

_Byakuya's smile fades and his eyes start to look wounded. I slip an arm around him and plant a big kiss on his pouting lips._

"_I was kidding," I tell him, "Nori already explained what would be expected, and I am fine with all of it. If it's what your family does, then let's do it."_

_He smiles in gratitude._

"_Arigato, Renji."_

"_You're welcome," I answer, kissing him again._

_After a few more kisses, Rukia clears her throat, softly. She takes the baby and kisses us good night, then heads back to the manor with Hajime. I wait until she and the baby are gone, then stand and glare down at Byakuya. He sits quietly, wearing a penitent expression._

"_Now…I think I remember Soutaichou saying that if you left your cell, you had to be bound," I say coarsely._

_I slip my fingers under the red collar that's been placed around his throat to seal away his power, and I bring him to his feet. I bring my face close to his, so our lips are barely touching._

"_Bakudo #4, Hainawa," I whisper, then we watch as the golden ropes wrap around his wrists, binding them together in front of him._

_He smiles and keeps his eyes lowered._

"_Is that all of the binding that you think I require, Renji?" he asks, his breath warming my lips and sending a soft jolt through my body._

_My fingers curl around the collar and pull him into a heavy, penetrating kiss._

"_For now," I tell him._

_I turn and pull my fingers out of the collar, then take hold of his bound hands and lead him out into the corridor. He shivers as a draft riles the white yukata he's wearing and chills his bare feet. We walk out of the cellblock and down a warmer hallway that leads back in the direction of the office. I stop him at his quarters and open the door, then pull him inside and close the door behind us. He starts forward, but I turn back and pin him against the door._

"_Did I tell you to move?" I ask, holding my body tightly against his, "It seems you are set on misbehaving. I think I have no choice but to tie you down so you'll quit wandering about."_

"_I wasn't 'wandering about,' he says indignantly, "I was following you."_

"_Hmmm…" I say, lowering my lips to his, "Argumentative too. You are just adding constantly to your list of offenses. We are going to be quite busy tonight with punishments, I see."_

_I plunge into his mouth and press forward. As I do, his bound hands touch me through my clothes. It sends a really nice jolt through me…so nice, I hate pulling back. But as his prison guard, I have to keep the upper hand, so I step back and glare._

"_Did I say you could touch me?" I ask sharply._

"_No."_

_I look down._

"_Well…since you have riled me, I think you'd better take care of that, ne?"_

_He blinks._

"_Where?" he asks._

_Damn, I know he's not as innocent as he looks right now, but he's one hell of a actor._

"_Here," I say, nipping at a pale earlobe._

"_Here, as in…by the door?"_

"_Yes."_

_I pull the tie on my shihakushou and let my hakama drop._

"_How would you prefer to be pleasured?" he asks._

_I smile._

"_Well, you seem to enjoy using that pretty mouth of yours for all kinds of mayhem. Let's see how good you are at using it on me."_

_I sink my fingers into his hair and I can feel myself already leaking. He lifts his bound hands and rests them against my chest, then slides down my front, making a trail of hot, wet kisses as he goes. His hands brush against me as he sinks to his knees, then they catch and hold me as he looks up, as though asking permission to proceed and I give him an authoritarian nod._

_He begins slowly, with light touches of his fingers. His hot breath teases me, then an even hotter mouth wraps around me. I love the fact that his fingers are so cool compared to his mouth. The contrast drags a hiss of pleasure out of me before I mean for it to happen. My eyes are riveted, watching him closely as he half closes his eyes and pleasures me with a devilish tongue, riling with lips and light scrapings of his teeth. I can't help but groan as he sinks down again. He clamps down and moans softly, sending a nice vibration through me and making me have to work really hard not to move. I still have my fingers in that soft hair, and I tighten them a little to encourage him. He moves easily under my direction, sucking hard and moaning. My legs start to feel weak and I can tell I won't last too much longer. He pulls back slightly as I climax, closing his eyes and swallowing repeatedly. It takes me awhile to recover, and when I open my eyes and the stars fade, he's looking up at me questioningly. I take my fingers out of his hair, slip them back beneath the collar and pull him to his feet. I push him back against the wall again and fasten my mouth on his, pushing my tongue into his mouth, enjoying the way I taste on his lips and tongue. There's something damned sexy about that. So I hold him there for a long time, pushing my hips forward to tease him, then pulling back when he tries to rub himself against me. _

_He makes a sound of discontent and his eyes begin to look aggressive. So I back off and slide a hand down his arm, catching him by the bound hands and tugging him in the direction of his bed. I lower him onto his back, then employ another kido spell and watch the golden ropes coil around each slender, naked ankle, fastening them to the posts at the foot of the bed. I kneel next to him and take his hands, then use kido to lock them to the wooden rail that runs along the headboard. I take a moment to open the white yukata he's wearing, revealing all of that lovely pale flesh, then stare down at him, thinking about how damned good it will feel to touch all of that. I give him a stern look._

"_Now, it's time for your punishment, Taichou."_

"_I thought you already punished me," he objects, "What was that over by the door?"_

"_Huh…that was just to teach you not to argue with me. It looks like it didn't quite do the job. I'll have to use a firmer hand next time…or maybe I won't wait until next time."_

_I lean over him, sliding a hand down his body and stopping a hair away from touching him. I hear him catch his breath, and I smile down at him._

"_Something wrong?" I ask._

_His eyes flare, but he doesn't say anything._

"_You are a quick learner," I say, rewarding him with a hard, open-mouthed kiss, "And I will be equally quick to reward good behavior."_

_He gives me a demure look._

"_Then I shall endeavor to behave myself," he promises a bit too contritely._

_I take my time, then, starting by running my fingers through his hair and placing light, breathy kisses on his face, then teasing his earlobe with my tongue and nipping and licking at the skin of his long, vulnerable throat. I bite down and suck, and his breath quickens. I glance down at him and smile. I give him a look that promises completion soon and crawl down his torso, biting, kissing and licking everywhere, but carefully avoiding all of his most sensitive places. He lets out an impatient moan and his eyes look like they've gone feverish. He loses it a little when I thrust my tongue into his navel. The sound he makes sends a feeling like electricity through me and I start to harden again. He groans as I bypass his nether region altogether and start tormenting the sweet, white flesh along his inner thighs._

"_R-renji!" he hisses, "For the love of kami, are you trying to drive me mad?"_

_I move in close to his riled length and blow hot breath on him. His hips rise off the bed like I hit him with a jolt of electricity. It's so fucking beautiful to see such a wicked, primal reaction in that usually carefully controlled body that I forget about tormenting him and all I can think about is feeling that wonderful white body laid out beneath mine, moving with me and seeking our mutual ecstasy. He pulls against the restraints, and if he wasn't wearing that reiatsu repressing collar, he would have shattered the kido holding him down and I think I'd be the one tied up and being tormented. It suddenly occurs to me that eventually, this week will end and he's going to be able to retaliate. It gives me a shiver, but more one of excitement at the prospect, so I decide to really earn the honor._

_I climb on top of him and attack his mouth and throat again. I keep my hips raised, so even when he arches up into me, he can't rub against me. He gives me a withering glare, but can't hang onto it as I lower my hips and brush teasingly against him._

"_Abarai!" he gasps, "That's…"_

_I do it again and he stops talking. He's panting for breath and I can feel how hard his heart is beating. I look down at him with an expression that tells him the games are over. I slide my body down his and move down between his parted thighs. He breathes and moans like he's delirious, and his body writhes beneath my hands. I release his hip to start preparing him. He groans at my touch and arches his back, panting hard when I hook my fingers and stimulate the bundle of nerves inside him. I keep him suspended on the verge of completion until his words have disappeared into incoherent moans and his body glistens with sweat. Finally, I smile at him and release him. I feed him a tender barrage of kisses before moving into position in top of him. He looks up at me through lovely, sated eyes._

"_Renji, as much fun as I can see that you are having with this…I want to put my arms around you," he whispers._

_How am I supposed to say no to that, ne?_

"_Well," I say, "the only problem is that Soutaichou said that if you are out of your cell, you have to be bound. Don't want to break the rules."_

"_I have an idea about that…" he says, smiling._

_A moment later, I thrust into him and at the same time, shatter the kido holding his hands and feet. As his arms close around me and our bodies move together, golden ropes form and wrap themselves around us, slowly binding us, one to the other. Even after climax takes us, after the flurry of kisses in the afterglow and the affectionate whispers preceding sleep, the kido ropes keep us locked together._

_As I feel sleep coming on, I wrap my arms around the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know for a fact that even the worst kinds of pain happen for a reason…or many reasons. I'm not going to waste another minute thinking about the hell Aizen put me through. I'm holding all of the reassurance I need that there are good things and good people in life. And it is with an unburdened heart that I choose to move forward._

"_Byakuya?"_

"_Hai."_

"_Why did you come for me? I mean, I know why in general, but what made you go through with it?"_

_He looks at me through sleepy eyes and smiles._

"_Because as I saw you fall protecting me, as I was pulled away from you…for just one moment, our eyes met, and it was in that moment that I made you a promise. I promised that I would come for you. I would find you. I would bring you home. I did it because of that promise."_


End file.
